Hawks avoid letdown this time
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson warned his team not to follow up their stunning victory Tuesday against the Bruins with a flat performance Thursday against the Predators.
They heeded his advice, yet again punching above their weight to earn a 2-1 road victory and deal the Predators’ playoff hopes a significant blow.
Goalie Alex Stalock was the Hawks’ most valuable player, as usual, making 35 saves on 36 shots.
Predators captain Roman Josi gave his team a flicker of life and spoiled Stalock’s shutout bid with 25 seconds left, but Stalock mentally flushed the disappointment, stopped a sharp-angle shot by Matt Duchene with 10 seconds left and carried the Hawks to the horn.
“I saw the puck [well],” Stalock said. “Our ‘D’ did a great job boxing out. Our forwards eliminated some dangerous shooters. That might’ve been Josi’s only threat all night. To eliminate a guy like that from the game, it’s a good job by our forwards, staying on him and chasing him around the zone and staying between him and the net.
“[We] played a simple game, scored timely goals, and that has been the recipe lately.”
The timely goals came from Lukas Reichel — who benefitted from a lucky bounce to score his third career goal in the same arena where he recorded his first career point last spring — and Joey Anderson, who earned a tap-in by forcing a turnover with a tenacious third-period forecheck.
Stalock also became the first known goalie in NHL history to save a penalty shot in three consecutive games when Duchene flubbed his chance in the second period. The veteran goalie is now 9-8-1 with a .922 save percentage this season.
Kaiser settling in
Just-signed rookie defenseman Wyatt Kaiser didn’t make his debut Thursday, having just joined the team in Nashville after a whirlwind week.
“[Minnesota-Duluth’s season] ended Sunday, and Monday was just hanging out with the guys at the end of the season,” Kaiser said. “Then Tuesday morning, I signed and drove down to the [Twin] Cities, and left Wednesday.”
During his first day, the 20-year-old defenseman was “talking to the coaches, watching some film, trying to understand how [the Hawks] play and what their identity is.”
His elite puck-moving ability should fit right in at the NHL level, but other areas will require some adjustment once his debut day arrives.
This and that
Reese Johnson has recovered from his concussion but is now sick with a stomach bug that Richardson thought he picked up from Stalock last week. He’ll fly commercial to join the Hawks mid-trip once he recovers.
♦ Cole Guttman underwent stabilization surgery on his right shoulder, the Hawks announced, and he’s expected to return to hockey activities in July.
♦ Anton Khudobin was called back up from Rockford to replace Petr Mrazek
— while he recovers from his latest groin injury — and backed up Stalock on Thursday. But Khudobin still only has his neon-green Stars mask and stick with him, meaning the color contrast will be jarring if he does end up needing to play.
♦ Speaking of the Stars, ex-Hawk Max Domi is off to a solid start there. He entered Thursday with three points in his first six games.
♦ Sam Lafferty, meanwhile, has struggled in his first few weeks with the Maple Leafs. He sports just one point and a team-worst 34.9% scoring-chance ratio in seven games.