TAMPA, Fla. — Landon Slaggert’s offensive game isn’t all that nuanced. To the Chicago Blackhawks forward, scoring goals is pretty much black-and-white.
Or, better yet, blue.
“Just getting to the blue paint,” he said hours before he was set to make his NHL season debut Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“My dad (Andy Slaggert, associate hockey coach at Notre Dame) always has a saying, ‘Where do the goals hide?’ And the answer is they don’t — they’re around the blue paint. You’ve just got to get there and get to the net.”
Goals have been hiding from the Hawks, who rank second-worst with 2.59 per game, though they’ve marginally improved recently (2.8 in the last 10 games).
That wasn’t a problem Tuesday at Amalie Arena.
Connor Bedard put the Hawks on the board in the second period, and Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teräväinen added goals in the third. But it was Slaggert who gave the Hawks the only lead they’d need 7 minutes, 55 seconds after Bedard’s marker.
And it was a long-distance shot, a 45-footer. Not exactly one of his grittier goals.
“No it was not,” he said. “A rare one a little far away. But I just want to keep getting to the net and hopefully more will go in for me.”
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The Hawks hope Slaggert can bring a different element while learning on the job.
The Notre Dame product spent 16 games with the Hawks last season, producing a goal and three assists, but started this fall in Rockford to get more seasoning.
He has 10 goals and 15 assists in 39 games for the IceHogs, which includes recording a point in five of his last six games.
Craig Smith’s back injury and Taylor Hall’s trade to the Carolina Hurricanes opened space on the roster, but Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said Slaggert deserved the nod.
“Happy for him,” Sorensen said. “He earned this, he deserves to be called up. He’s played really well in Rockford. But it’s neat to see.”
Sorensen coached Slaggert and his brother, Graham, during his days with the Chicago Mission.
“Known him for a long time, so it’s always a pretty cool experience,” Sorensen said. “But it’s more about the game tonight.”
Slaggert’s game is about effort, his coach said.
“It’s in his DNA,” he said. “He’s always been that type of player, he’s like a dog on a bone. He’s been producing down there (in Rockford).
“But defensively, be reliable. And he’s really good on the PK, so we’ll utilize him there as well.”
Slaggert said he tries to build his game by being competitive nightly.
“My offense has come along, too,” he said. “I’m not chasing points, but it’s a byproduct of the way I play.”
Slaggert played a support role for several IceHogs, some of whom are with the Hawks now.
Take, for example, the IceHogs’ 5-2 win against the Texas Stars on Nov. 19. Slaggert assisted on three straight goals in the second period — one by Frank Nazar, two by Colton Dach.
“It was awesome being able to know that if I put a puck behind, he’s going to go get that back, and he’s going to make a skill play,” Nazar said. “He set me up a lot of times and on the back door. And he’s a very skilled player, too.
“But I think the thing that pushes him above others is just that high pace, high motor, and being able to get those pucks and make a play with it.”
Nazar added that Slaggert is smart with his passes and can make them quickly through small windows.
“Just him being able to use his speed to get behind guys and get around guys, and then the skill takes over,” Nazar said.
Sorensen added, “If you look at his last college season, I think he had a lot of goals around that area.”
The Hawks coach put him on the line with Lukas Reichel and Nick Foligno.
“I played a couple games with him and (MacKenzie) Entwistle last year,” Reichel said. “And he was always working hard, really good on the forecheck, and just plays with energy.
“And that’s what we need here right now.”
Dach was a scratch for Tuesday’s game, so Slaggert slotted into his place.
“His effort and his pace of play can help, so those two guys can hopefully feed off each other and drag Nick along,” Sorensen said with a smile.
After the game, Slaggert said he was just glad to get off to a fast start in his first tilt with the big club.
“It’s definitely good to kind of pick up where I left off and get right back on it,” he said. “I thought I was doing a lot of good things out there, but I’m glad I got to get on the score sheet a little bit and contribute offensively too.”
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Slaggert received high marks from other Hawks.
“I thought he was really good,” Sorensen said. “Obviously, he scored, but he was good on the PK. His overall game was really good.”
Bedard added, “He was great. Brought a lot of energy. Obviously it’s great to see him put one in, but his whole game, he was buzzing around and making stuff happen, making them turn it over. That’s a big part of his game, how much energy he brings.”
Here are some other observations from the game.
Bedard had a shot for the highlight reels
In the second period, he ripped a roof shot from an impossible angle at the bottom of the right circle, on the far edge. The shot banked off the crossbar, traveled behind goalie Jonas Johansson’s head, hit the far post and went in.
“It’s not the easiest shot to score on, but just saw a little room and eventually it’s going to hopefully go in, so it’s good to see it go in,” Bedard said.
“Everybody saw it coming, right?” Sorensen said. “It’s special, right? But you can feel the energy on the bench, for sure.”
The Nick Foligno Show goes on the road
Foligno showed off some improvisational skills with his goofy pantomime of Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov flopping, though it was less comical when Joel Eriksson Ek scored off the ensuing penalty.
In Tampa, he must’ve thought he was in the octagon. He threw off Zemgus Girgensons’ attempt to light him, sending Girgensons tumbling to the ice. Moments later, Foligno rained right hooks on him until the refs broke it up.
Still, Foligno knew well enough that his antics in the Wild game weren’t going to fly with Sorensen, and so he took a proactive approach.
“He knows,” Sorensen said. “We talked. We’re good. He talked to me.”
And speaking of fisticuffs, a cheap shot on Bedard ignited a scrum
Bedard tripped Jake Guentzel and sent him spilling into the boards. Michael Eyssimont blindsided Bedard with a hit to his lower back against the back wall, which drew swift retaliation from Bertuzzi. By the time all the penalties were handed out, it was a wash: no power play for the tripping call.
“I don’t really care,” Bedard said about the hit. “I think he knows the whistle is going to blow. It’s a physical game. I don’t really care too much. We’re not going to be whining about taking hits. I’m fine. (Bertuzzi) got in there.”
Sorensen said, “It worked out for us because we weren’t short (handed).”
Alex Vlasic found himself in a first-period pickle
Sorry for that, but when you commit to bad turnovers (one preceding a breakaway) and let Nikita Kucherov slip by you to set up the Lightning’s opening goal, you warrant the occasional bad pun.
What was Arvid Söderblom’s best save?
Among his 34 saves, his third-period stop on Nick Paul’s toe-drag shot from 7 feet was his favorite. “I liked the one last period there, the breakaway, pad save,” he said. “Just because we’re up 2-1 last period, to come up with a save like that feels good. I feel like the team gets a lot of energy from it, as well.”
Sorensen seemed partial to Söderblom’s sliding backdoor save against Paul’s rebound shot off Victor Hedman’s blast.
“He made some — I don’t know how to describe it — spectacular saves?” Sorensen said. ” … There were some moments there that looked a lot like the home game (against the Lightning on Friday), especially with the goalie pulled, when they tried to go backdoor and he read it.”
Söderblom said, “I was just trying to be aware where all their threats was and just keep my eyes on the puck and when it came over there, just tried to get there as fast as possible and be ready with the glove.”
It was a six-on-five, 1:33 left and the puck even hit him in the mask. How’s that not the favorite?
“No, I like the other one because we were up 2-1 and the last one we were up 3-1,” Söderblom said.