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CHICAGO — Longtime Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews returned from a two-month medical leave of absence and played Saturday night in a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Toews, 34, took the opening faceoff for Chicago as he appeared in a game for the first time since Jan. 28 at Edmonton. He played 14 minutes and took 18 shifts, and started by centering a line with wingers Reese Johnson and Austin Wagner.

Toews set up Andreas Athanasiou‘s third-period tip-in and managed a shot himself. But the Blackhawks leader admitted his first game back — against the speedy Devils — was challenging.

“Definitely finding my way a little bit,” Toews. “I think the first period was rough. That’s a fast team, fast game. But I think the second, third period, I started to feel a bit more comfortable.”

Toews made a statement through the team on Feb. 19 saying he would be stepping away because of the effects of chronic immune response syndrome and “long COVID.”

After training on his own, Toews returned to the ice with teammates in a practice session on Tuesday. In a meeting with reporters after the skate, he hinted his stellar NHL career could be winding down after 15 years and stopped short of saying he planned to play in any of last-place Chicago’s remaining games.

Toews’ eight-year, $84 million contract is set to expire at the end of the season. Patrick Kane, his longtime teammate who won three Stanley Cup titles in Chicago, was also on an expiring deal when he was dealt to the New York Rangers this season.

“It was good to have him back,” coach Luke Richardson said of Toews. “I thought he was a big presence on the bench, very vocal, and made a nice play.”

Toews, the Blackhawks’ first-round draft pick (third overall) in 2006, joined the team in 2007 and was a pillar of those title-winning clubs in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

At the peak of his career, he was one of the NHL’s top two-way centers, winning the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in 2013.

In 1,060 regular-season games, Toews has 371 goals and 509 assists. In 139 playoff games, he’s posted 45 goals and 74 assists, and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2010.

Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season with chronic immune response syndrome, which causes debilitating inflammation and fatigue. He appeared in 71 games in 2021-22.

Toews started this season with renewed energy before slowing and eventually shutting himself down. He has 14 goals and 15 assists in 47 games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cards’ Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

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Cards' Contreras out with foot contusion after HBP

ST. LOUIS — Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies a day after he was hit in the foot by a pitch and broke his bat in frustration.

Contreras, listed as day-to-day with a right foot contusion, was hit by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland‘s sweeper in the fourth inning. He then slammed his bat into the dirt and snapped it over his knee.

As he walked toward first base, the 33-year-old threw the two pieces of the broken bat toward the Cardinals’ dugout.

He remained in the game until the sixth inning, when he was replaced by Nolan Gorman.

The Cardinals said X-rays did not reveal any structural damage in Contreras’ foot.

Contreras has been hit by a National League-leading 18 pitches this season, trailing only Randy Arozarena and Ty France.

Contreras leads the Cardinals with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.

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Rangers’ struggling García to IL with ankle injury

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Rangers' struggling García to IL with ankle injury

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put struggling slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle and activated outfielder Evan Carter.

Texas, which is chasing an American League wild-card berth, made the moves their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness, but manager Bruce Bochy said he could be available to pinch-hit.

García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 116 games. He hit .176 (6 for 34) during the nine-game homestand that ended with Wednesday’s game.

Carter, who turns 23 later this month, missed 10 games because of back spasms. He was in a 4-for-34 slump when he was placed on the IL on Aug. 2. He hit .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 55 games before then.

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D-backs’ DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

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D-backs' DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arizona Diamondbacks placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of right thumb inflammation after he made three starts.

DeSclafani (1-2, 4.36 ERA) has been primarily a reliever for the Diamondbacks but made the starts this month after Merrill Kelly was traded to the Texas Rangers at the deadline on July 31.

Arizona made the move with DeSclafani before the series finale at Texas, when Kelly was starting for the Rangers. The Diamondbacks recalled right-hander Casey Kelly from Triple-A Reno.

“We’re hoping for the minimal time. He’s going to get some imaging just to make sure that everything’s OK,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “This is something that popped up a couple days ago. We all felt that he was going to be able to take the baseball and go out there and compete, which he did. We saw the stuff in the first couple of innings, and we decided it was time to take him off the field.”

In the three starts this month, DeSclafani is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA, allowing six runs in 9⅔ innings. He threw three innings Tuesday night, allowing two runs in a game Arizona won 3-2 on a homer by Ketel Marte in the ninth.

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