The Chicago Blackhawks have won two of their last three games, which is quite an accomplishment for this depleted team. They head out on a four-game road trip before the All-Star break on a bit of a high note. They’ll also have some reinforcements on this trip, and there’s a few other things to be excited about as well. Let’s get to the latest news and rumors.
Foligno Will Go On Road Trip
Veteran Nick Foligno has been all that and more this season for the Blackhawks. He immediately stepped into the role of leader and mentor, as well as the team cheerleader and protector. That last part caused him to sustain a broken finger fighting the New Jersey Devils’ Brendan Smith over a hit to young superstar Connor Bedard.
Foligno has been out since Jan. 5, but he’s made sure to still be around the team to fulfill his other roles. The good news is Foligno is cleared from his injury and will be joining the team on the upcoming road trip. He skated on the top line with Philipp Kurashev and Taylor Raddysh during practice on Sunday, and is expected to play when the Blackhawks face the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night (Jan. 22).
Forward Ryan Donato was also a full participant at practice and will go on the road trip. Donato has missed the last two contests with an illness. He skated on the third line with Rem Pitlick and MacKenzie Entwistle.
It will be great for the team to have these two players added to the lineup for the trip. I’m sure it serves as a big morale boost.
Reichel the Odd Man Out
In other lineup news, forward Lukas Reichel was the odd man out in practice on Sunday. The 17th overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft has struggled mightily this season, and was a healthy scratch on Dec. 3rd against the Minnesota Wild. It looks like he’s headed there once again.
Reichel has only three goals and nine points in 45 games so far this season. He hasn’t recorded a point since Jan. 11, and hasn’t had a shot on goal in the last three games. He’s been playing mostly on the third line (with Entwistle and Cole Guttman) since his last scratch, in an attempt to improve his defensive game. Either way, it’s obvious the 21-year-old is suffering from a lack of confidence, and it just keeps snow-balling as time goes on. The coaches are working with him, but he’s the only one that can translate that out on the ice.
Per head coach Luke Richardson,
I think he’s doing a lot of things we’re asking him to do defensively. It’s just the same, confidence offensively, and shooting pucks, and not holding onto them too long, and getting stripped, and being frustrated and making him play defense too much.
Sometimes, he’s just overthinking it. Sometimes, when you take a step back and work on some individual stuff, see some video, and see some other players making some correct decisions but also some incorrect decisions, that sometimes helps you get your game on track.
(from ‘Lukas Reichel Starts Road Trip as a Healthy Scratch’, CHGO – 1/21/24)
This certainly is a conundrum, because scratching Reichel isn’t exactly going to help his confidence. Richardson says his defensive game has improved, so is it time to try him out in the top-six again? He’d have more to work with playing with more offensive-minded players.
Related – Blackhawks Already Hold Key to Unlocking Reichel’s Ceiling
It will be interesting to see when, and how, Reichel is deployed on this road trip, and whether he can snap out of his slump.
Can’t Keep Bedard off the Ice
We all know 18-year-old Bedard sustained a fractured jaw on Jan. 5, and had successful surgery on Jan. 8. He was given a timeline of six-to-eight weeks for return to play. But the surprise of probably no one, Bedard was back out on the ice Jan. 15, just seven days after his surgery, with the instruction to refrain from hard slapshots that would require him to clench his jaw.
Well, Bedard took it to another level at Sunday’s practice by sneaking out onto the ice three times.
Nick Foligno on Connor Bedard skating three separate times today: "He was laughing. He went out, got kicked off, goes back out for the goalies, then got kicked off for practice, and then he's going back out now again." #Blackhawks https://t.co/re6L3lric7
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 21, 2024
While Bedard was out on the ice for the third time, Coach Richardson had his press conference with the media and indicated the 18-year-old will NOT be going on the road trip and his timeline hasn’t changed. “He’s still not supposed to be taking hard slapshots and stuff like that.”
I think the “not supposed to” is the humorous part here. Bedard wants to return so badly, and it’s pretty much impossible to hold him back. I’m still sticking with my prediction he’ll be back the week of Feb. 19, if not sooner!
Blackhawks Defensive Updates & More
A few other updates on the defensive side. Connor Murphy has missed the last three games with a lower body injury. He was not at practice on Sunday, but Richardson indicated he’s hopeful both he and forward Tyler Johnson (foot injury) will join them on the road trip at some point.
I’m not sure these players would be joining the Blackhawks on the trip if they weren’t expected to play, but we will see how that pans out. The good news is they’re progressing, and both should for sure be available after the All-Star break.
In the meantime, blueliner Louis Crevier skated on the third pairing with Isaak Phillips in practice. Crevier was recalled on Jan. 17 in the wake of a right knee injury to Nikita Zaitsev, but he has yet to appear in a game since then. It seems his time has finally come.
Related – Blackhawks Bytes Foligno Style: Bedard, Dickinson & More
Crevier suited up for 13 games with the Blackhawks throughout December, recording three assists in that time. He’s best known for his 6-foot-8 frame and consequent long reach on the ice.
Phillips has also been a fringe player; he’s been back up with the Blackhawks since Dec. 9, but he’s only suited up for three contests in January. Both players will try to continue to make a positive impression on this road trip.
Jones’s Good Night
Speaking of defensemen, we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight some stats for the Blackhawks’ top defenseman Seth Jones. The 29-year-old returned from a shoulder injury on Jan. 13 after missing 15 games. Jones always eats up a lot of minutes, so he was certainly missed.
The blueliner had a pretty good game against the New York Islanders on Jan. 19. First, his secondary assist Jason Dickinson’s goal was his 100th point as a Blackhawk. This made the score 3-1 for the Hawks, but the Islanders scored two more goals to force overtime.
No worries, because Jones came to the rescue! He scored just 22 seconds into extra time to give the Blackhawks the win.
Seth Jones needed just 22 seconds in the extra frame to score the winner for the @NHLBlackhawks – the team's fastest overtime tally since March 6, 2018 (0:09).#NHLStats: https://t.co/5Ik1EWabUs pic.twitter.com/cd1IQou3uj
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 20, 2024
This just also happened to the Jones’s first goal of the season. He’s currently third on the team with 12 assists, so he’s certainly done his part in the way of offensive production. But his first goal had eluded him so far. It must have felt good to get that behind him.
Netminder Mrazek the Next to Re-Sign?
Finally, a report came out earlier this week from ESPN’s Kevin Weekes that goaltender Petr Mrazek will be the next to re-sign with the Blackhawks, joining fellow veterans Foligno and Dickinson.
From @KevinWeekes on #Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) January 19, 2024
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
(🎥 @espn) pic.twitter.com/ZPjbGZB28C
Mrazek has been a pleasant surprise in net this season. He’s finally healthy and playing at the top of his game, offering stability in the crease. In 31 games played, he has a .904 save percentage and a 3.04 goals against average. That’s not easy to do considering the young and developing team in front of him. Just ask the Blackhawks’ other netminder, Arvid Soderblom (.877 SV%, 3.95 GAA in 19 games).
The 31-year-old could be the perfect person to hold down the fort, giving the Blackhawks time to further develop their goaltender prospects (i.e. Drew Commesso). It seems like two-year contracts are the charm for general manager Kyle Davidson, based on the two-year deals he made with Foligno and Dickinson. We’ll have to see if/when this comes to fruition.
Related – Blackhawks Sign Jason Dickinson to 2-Year, $8.5 Million Extension
That’s all for the latest news and rumors! The Blackhawks face the Canucks, Seattle Kraken, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames this coming week before the All-Star break. All four are Pacific division teams that bring some tough competition. But the Blackhawks are slowly getting healthier and should be up for the challenge. Hopefully they can add some more W’s to the win column!