The concussion Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock suffered Nov. 1 against the Islanders has turned out to be a longer-term issue than initially thought. He has missed almost a month now.
But his absence might be finally nearing its end. Stalock joined Petr Mrazek — who started against the Jets — and Arvid Soderblom as full participants in Hawks morning skate Sunday, his first time practicing with the team since the injury.
“He’s a great voice in the dressing room, [so] him just being healthy again and around the guys, it’s a huge boost for this team,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It’s nice to have him back. But [it was his] first day on the ice, we’ll see how he feels with shots and everybody out there.”
Stalock impressed in October, going 3-2-1 with a .914 save percentage. Goaltending hasn’t really been the Hawks’ issue this season, even during his absence, but his return should help nonetheless. Soderblom will likely return to Rockford at that point.
Tinordi injured
The Hawks’ second defensive pairing of Jarred Tinordi and Connor Murphy was broken up Sunday for essentially the first time all season, albeit not voluntarily.
Tinordi missed the game because he “banged up” a lingering, preexisting injury, Richardson said. The journeyman defenseman has found a stable role in Chicago, tallying five points in 20 games while averaging 17:30 of ice time.
Filip Roos, who’d previously been scratched for all but one game since Nov. 14, assumed Tinordi’s spot in the lineup. Forwards Sam Lafferty (upper body) and Tyler Johnson (ankle) remained out.
Kane’s shootout drought
As of Dec. 4 last year, Patrick Kane’s career shootout resume was stellar. He had converted 49 of 117 career attempts, good for a sparkling 41.9% conversion rate — well above the NHL average.
But since then, Kane has uncharacteristically had seven consecutive shootout attempts saved. His attempt Friday wasn’t even technically saved; he just hit the side of the net after running out of time and space.
Jonathan Toews, whose career shootout numbers are even better, is also an unremarkable 2-for-9 since the start of last season. The Hawks, as a team, still went 6-2 in shootouts last season but are 0-2 this season (entering Sunday).
Kane and a handful of other Hawks forwards love their tradition of post-practice games of “two puck,” which are basically scaled-down shootouts. With all those opportunities to try out new moves, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them eventually improve in the shootouts that count.
Dickinson speaks up
Richardson told an interesting story Sunday about Hawks forward Jason Dickinson that sheds light on his mindset.
“He’s a quiet guy,” Richardson said. “But the other night, I told him to go out and take a short shift. It was four-on-four and then we were going to go into a penalty kill. He came to me and goes, ‘I want that kill.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but I need you to go out and finish this four-on-four.’ He’s like, ‘No, I want that kill.’ And I go, ‘I heard you, but I need you out there for 20 or 30 seconds, and then come back and I’ll get you back on the kill.’
“He wanted a little redemption. Maybe [he had] a bad game before, and he wanted to get back on the pressure side of our penalty kill and kill it off. It’s good to see [that] drive in a player like that. You’re not sure if it’s there or not when a guy is quiet.”
