Little slice of heaven in hellacious season
Stalock, McCabe and Reichel stand out in rare win vs. Coyotes
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson might want to take Friday night’s game and frame it.
The 2-0 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at the United Center was one of their most complete games of the season.
“Had four lines going, our defense played very solid and played their position,” Richardson said. “We had a goaltender kicking, but the power play, I know we didn’t score but they really zipped it around and gave us some momentum in the first period.
“And the penalty kill, when we needed it the most in the third period, the one we had the kill, I thought they were very sharp and just desperate to make sure they didn’t give up any glorious chances.
“From start to finish, I was pretty happy with the performance of the whole team.”
It was a team effort, especially on defense, but three players stood out — and for various reasons.
Goalie Alex Stalock made 22 saves for his 10th career shutout — and first with the Hawks.
Defenseman Jake McCabe scored his second goal of the season.
Forward Lukas Reichel got off to a hot start — though he’s still waiting on his first career goal.
“It was great to get back in the win column,” Stalock said. “It gives a lot of life to this group, and ... anytime you win it brings fun back to the game.”
The win snapped the Hawks’ five-game skid and was their second victory in the last 15 games.
Stalock, McCabe and Reichel are three Hawks in the spotlight.
1. Is Alex Stalock sliding into the starting role?
Stalock had a second straight start and fourth in the Hawks’ last five games. He has a 2.36 goals-against average in five-on-five, compared with Petr Mrázek’s 3.77.
The schedule “just so happens to fall that way right now,” Stalock said. “I think either of us in the net are capable of ... giving the team a chance to win it, and it just so happens I’ve gotten a few in a row, but tonight that’s a team win.
“That’s four lines of forwards and three lines of D that chipped in and played great.”
Richardson has given Stalock a heavy workload, showing incredible trust in the goalie given he’s just two weeks removed from returning from a month-and-ahalf absence while in concussion protocol.
“He’s playing really well right now and it shows,” Richardson said. “It’s a lot of credit to him because he’s coming off a pretty tough injury. He was run over pretty good. It wasn’t just a mild concussion, and he’s right back in there playing the exact same way.”
Stalock has even shown his penchant for risk-taking, venturing far out of the crease to play the puck and start breakouts.
“It’s not reckless, it’s fearless, and he really knows how to use his stick well,” Richardson said.
2. Jake McCabe came up with the goal, but his defense has been even more impressive.
McCabe’s rip from the high slot hit 89 mph on the speedometer, and teammates ribbed him for it.
“The guys were giving me (crap) about it,” McCabe said. “Puck must have been faulty.”
He leads the team in defensive point shares with 2.2, according to hockey-reference.com. McCabe is seventh in the league (minimum 100 minutes on ice) in shots blocked per 10 minutes (7.44), according to moneypuck.com.
His game-high three blocks on Friday played a role in preserving Stalock’s shutout.
“I think me and Seth (Jones) as of late as a pair have been playing pretty solid,” McCabe said. “We moved pucks quick and we didn’t spend too much time in our D-zone, and we were just solid with good gaps and reading off each other and getting more comfortable with each other the last couple weeks.”
McCabe said he also has focused on being a leader, “just being steady and confident.”
“He’s just a warrior,” Richardson said.
“It was great to see a guy like that scoring a goal. But watching him in the third period, making streethockey kick saves in front of the goalie, he’s ... not afraid to put his body on the line for the team and he’s a competitor.”
3. Lukas Reichel looked his most comfortable as a pro.
On Reichel’s first shift, Max Domi sprung him on a breakaway and only Jakob Chychrun’s poke check prevented him from getting a shot off.
Later, Reichel sped up the right flank and tried a short-range roof shot but flipped it too high.
One of those eventually is going to go in, and Reichel will get that coveted first goal, but it was more important how confident he looked. At times he just glided through the defense.
“He was excellent,” Richardson said. “I’ve only seen small bursts of him but I know other guys in the organization said that’s probably his best showing to date. He saw his opportunity and I think it’s the right time to come up.”
Reichel, who got the call-up from Rockford on Wednesday, helped create several scoring chances and didn’t compromise his line on defense.
HIs line with Domi and Philipp Kurashev had a 77.8% scoring chance share against the opposition, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, and the numbers show puck possession was in their favor too — a team-high 69.6% Corsi-for.
As for that first goal, Richardson’s not worried about Reichel showing impatience.
“He has a maturity about him and it looks like he’s pretty calm,” Richardson said. “I’m sure inside there’s always nerves and butterflies for guys playing up in the NHL, but he’s pretty confident in his ability and I’m sure he’s going to get that chance.
“I don’t think he was afraid to shoot the puck tonight, so that’s a good sign.”