Luke Richardson sounds off on hit that injured Connor Bedard.

Friday night turned out to be a particularly rough evening for a Chicago Blackhawks team that has had its fair share of tough nights already this season, with the Blackhawks not only falling to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-2 but also losing superstar forward Connor Bedard in the process.

Bedard was injured when he was on the receiving end of what looked like a fairly typical body check courtesy of Devils defenseman Brendan Smith. Smith caught Bedard reaching for the puck as he crossed over the Devils blue line and stopped him dead in his tracks with the hit.

Immediately following the contact, Bedard was seen clutching at his head and jaw and he would leave the game and would not return.

There has been a ton of outrage directed at Smith on social media as a result of this hit but following the conclusion of the game, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson spoke to the media about the incident and stopped short of calling the hit from Smith a dirty play.

"I just saw quick on the bench," admitted Richardson on Friday night. "I don't know if it was dirty, I think Connor was reaching for a puck and didn't see him. I don't think he stepped up on him, I think he just kinda stopped. I don't think it was intent to [hurt] or anything I think he was just playing hard on the blue line and trying to keep the puck out on the penalty kill."

Richardson did not have a medical update on Bedard following the conclusion of the game but the Blackhawks did travel back to Chicago and we will likely learn more at some point later today.