The Blackhawks are still theoretically tanking, and their largely unrecognizable roster is proof of it.
Anonymous or not, though, their overlooked players have demonstrated impressive amounts of scrappiness and resilience through the season’s first few weeks.
The Hawks rallied from two goals down to stun the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime Friday, winning for the second time in four games. Philipp Kurashev and Connor Murphy led a third-period comeback before Max Domi picked the top corner on a semi-breakaway two minutes into the extra session to thrill a lively crowd of 18,753 at the United Center home opener.
“Winning’s fun, right?” Domi said. “I’ll take it.”
Before the game, the Hawks debuted a new intro video that ties their slogan for the rebuild era — “Ready to Work” — in with Chicago’s blue-collar everyday culture.
The video was well-produced. But coach Luke Richardson was notably the only member of the 2022-23 Hawks who actually appears in it, demonstrating just how few marketable players the Hawks have left — and how much additional turnover the roster will likely undergo by season’s end.
That lack of talent will likely catch up with the Hawks eventually. Four games hardly represent a sufficient sample in an 82-game season. They certainly won’t complain about exceeding expectations in the meantime, though.
“They really showed a lot of character in that room, and that’s a credit to the leadership on this team,” Richardson said. “At the end of the second period, we had a good push, so there was a lot of belief. Coming out for the third, I knew we were going to be there at the end.”
Starting goalie Petr Mrazek suffered a minor injury late in the second period and was replaced by Alex Stalock. Richardson said Mrazek will be re-evaluated Saturday but Arvid Soderblom was recalled from Rockford after the game, with Alec Regula sent the other way.
Kubalik returns
Former Hawks forward Dominik Kubalik got a trial run through the weirdness of being in the United Center visitor’s locker room during the preseason, but Friday marked his official return as a new member of the Red Wings.
He returned with a vengeance, tallying two points — including a sly tip-in goal off a shot by fellow ex-Hawk Olli Maatta.
Kubalik was part of Detroit’s first splashy offseason in years; they also brought in David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp and Ville Husso during free agency.
“That was No. 1 thing for me when I talked to the Red Wings, that they’re trying to make another step forward,” Kubalik said. “It’s a good sign for me. I was really happy to be part of it.”
