During a second-period shift Tuesday, Blackhawks wing Lukas Reichel was doing exactly what coach Luke Richardson has been telling him to do: use his elite skating to be more tenacious, even without the puck.
Reichel helped the Hawks win a puck battle, allowing linemate Ryan Donato to clear the defensive zone with a high flip. He turned on the burners as a one-man forecheck, chasing down Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and engaging him the moment they both reached the puck.
Then he was called for hooking — a negative end to a positive shift. On Wednesday, Reichel could only smile at the misfortune. That’s just how things have been going for him this season.
“When you play [in the] bottom six, then you’ve got to win those pucks, win those battles, play good defensively, have a good forecheck and, from that, you create your chances,” Reichel said.
“I don’t know if it was a good or bad call, but nothing’s going to change. I’m just going to try to do the same thing again.”
Richardson didn’t dock Reichel for the penalty, which the Hawks killed off. He liked that the often-contact-shy 21-year-old was at least trying to “get in there and be forceful and aggressive.”
That determination to make an impact in all areas has been missing from Reichel’s play far too often this season.
As he attempts to rally from the lowest, most adversity-laden time of his career — which peaked when he was made a healthy scratch Sunday — Reichel will need to embrace that trait.
The process starts off the ice. After Richardson called for him to respond to the scratch with some “fire,” it sounded like Reichel brought some to a meeting Wednesday morning.
“We gave our opinion, and he gave some really honest, fair opinions back,” Richardson said. “I [told] him, ‘I don’t want to just put your number on the board to be back in after one game. Do you really want to go after it? Or do you need more time to visualize and reset?’ He said, ‘Oh, no, I’m ready.’
“Now that’s him holding himself accountable. It’s not me holding him accountable. I think that [difference is] important for players to understand.”
On the ice, Richardson deployed Reichel on the fourth line next to Donato and MacKenzie Entwistle, making him work his way back up the depth chart. Reichel wasn’t exactly dominant — or even comparable to his 2022-23 form — in his 12:21 of ice time, but he was noticeable on several occasions, which is better than he has been.
Reichel was part of an early two-on-one rush when Donato shot and hit the post. In the third period, he helped the Hawks avoid a rush against with a responsible neutral-zone play, which Richardson praised.
Also in the third, he executed a give-and-go with Alex Vlasic, evaded Lauzon and cut to the net, creating another golden chance for Donato. Granted, the Predators finished with an 8-4 edge in scoring chances during Reichel’s ice time, but that’s the case for most Hawks on most nights.
“I want to go in there and try to win every battle and win every puck,” Reichel said. “It’s not going to happen, probably, but that’s how I want to get into the game.”
Once he settles into a rhythm again, the next step will be maintaining confidence.
Lagging confidence was arguably the biggest culprit behind Reichel’s disappointing October and November. Now he’s being fueled by the motivation to prove himself again. But over time, Sunday’s message will fade, and he’ll have to start mining that fuel within himself.
