ST. PAUL, Minn. — Caleb Jones struggled during Seth Jones’ absence, letting that crucial opportunity to assert himself in the Blackhawks’ lineup slip away.
But Riley Stillman’s injury has now opened up a similar opportunity for Caleb Jones — who’s clearly the odd-man out in the Hawks’ defensive depth chart right now — just one game after Seth’s return.
Stillman will miss at least four games with a left shoulder injury he suffered Friday. The Hawks placed him on injured reserve Saturday ahead of their rematch against the Wild, making him ineligible to return until Jan. 29 at the earliest.
“I don’t have a timeline yet [for his return],” interim coach Derek King said. “I’m not sure how bad it is. We’ll just have to take it day-by-day.”
“He’s such a physical guy and a heart-and-soul player,” Connor Murphy said. “He’s able to step up against anyone, and he just wants to do what’s best for the team. We definitely all should be more like him in that way. He’ll be missed, however long he’ll have to be out.”
Jujhar Khaira, who missed both Wild games with lower back spasms, was also placed Saturday on backdated IR and will be eligible to return Monday at the earliest.
Caleb Jones looked in training camp like he might turn out to be a sneakily good offseason pickup for the Hawks. But his momentum was derailed by his wrist injury, and he hasn’t done much of note since returning in November. Since the holiday break, he has been particularly poor: the Hawks have been outscored 4-0 and recorded a 40.6% expected-goals ratio during his even-strength ice time (entering Saturday).
If he wants to earn a new contract with the Hawks this coming summer, he needs to prove his offensive upside can outweigh his defensive looseness — and that he’s therefore worth dressing as an every-night third-pairing defenseman — sometime before then. Stillman’s absence might be the best remaining chance to do so.
First-period woes
The Hawks’ awful first period Friday, falling behind 3-0 by the intermission — King later described the start as sleepy and unfocused — continued a bad pattern.
Entering Saturday, they’ve been outscored 45-22 in first periods this season, an atrocious minus-23 goal differential that ties the Coyotes as the worst in the NHL.
They’re below water in other periods, too, but by less alarming margins: minus-seven in second periods and minus-six in third periods.
Toews reflects
Even as the Hawks continue to play imperfect hockey, it’s important to appreciate how much more competitive and competent they are now than they were in October. In fact, they entered Saturday playing at a 94-point pace during Derek King’s tenure — equivalent to that of a borderline playoff team.
Jonathan Toews put the magnitude of the Hawks’ turnaround in perspective with one especially reflective quote Friday.
“The start of the year was tough on everybody with our losing streak and coaching change and all the other things that everyone seemed to be talking about — everything except for us winning games,” Toews said. “It was stressful for everyone. We had a lot of new guys in this room, too.
“We’ve worked really hard and come a long way to get out of that mess and find our identity and our direction as a team. The same goes for myself, personally. So when the pucks start going in, you just start building on that confidence every single night and you don’t have to think about a million little details. You just go out there and play, and things fall into place.”
