Lukas Reichel took a seat for Sunday’s finale of a three-game trip, but the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t fare much better without him during a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Hawks’ third straight loss resigned them to their first multigame trip this season in which they didn’t come away with at least one win.
“Definitely not a good night for us,” coach Luke Richardson said. “They were probably still showing their new coach (John Hynes, who replaced Dean Evason last week) they want to play, and they really outskated us and competed in those tough areas, especially in front of the net and in the corners.
“You’re not going to win many games when you get outworked there and outbattled in those areas.
Richardson said the Hawks showed a lot of effort, but he acknowledged the Wild have a stronger roster and it showed more desperation than the Hawks did.
“It’s just a matter of stop feeling sorry for yourself and go on and do it,” he said.
Former Hawks goalie Marc-André Fleury robbed his old team several times, and the Wild peppered Petr Mrázek with 34 shots, including four shots and two goals on the power play.
Taylor Raddysh deflected in a power-play goal with 7 minutes, 5 seconds left, spoiling what would’ve been Fleury’s first shutout of the season.
It was the second power-play goal on the trip and one of the few bright spots for the Hawks.
“But we’ve got to bear down,” Richardson said. “We could’ve had maybe two or three goals tonight on the power play. It definitely was better and we’ve got to be happy with it, but we can’t be satisfied.”
Raddysh was assisted by Tyler Johnson and Connor Bedard, who extended his road point streak to nine games.
Reichel was a healthy scratch for the first time this season after playing 22 straight games, and defenseman Louis Crevier made his NHL debut.
Here are four takeaways from the loss.
1. Lukas Reichel needs a reset.
Reichel has just two goals and four assists on the season. Early on he made plays that didn’t always show up in the box score, but lately he has been practically invisible for stretches.
He had an assist against the Seattle Kraken and a goal against the Detroit Red Wings last week, but he has missed other opportunities by mishandling the puck or looking tentative to pull the trigger.
He’s shooting 5.6% and the league average among forwards is 10.5%, according to NHL statistics. He has a team-low minus-17 rating.
Richardson said he advised Reichel “just to watch.”
“It’s true, he’s disappointed,” Richardson said, “but we need more from him and sometimes a little extra push like this gets a player going.”
With Anthony Beauvillier unavailable because of a visa delay, Reichel should’ve been a shoo-in to draw into the lineup, Richardson noted.
“So we’re disappointed (with) that as well,” he said. “So hopefully that’ll just give him a little extra boost to get his legs going, get a little bit of desperation in his game.”
2. The power play looked much more in sync.
Of course, there’s not much room for the league’s 31st-ranked power play (10%) to go anywhere but up. Still, on the first power-play opportunity, something clicked even though it didn’t produce a goal.
The first unit moved the puck a lot through Bedard. Three times early in the Hawks’ first chance, the sequence went like this: Bedard, high in the zone above the left circle, dropped the puck down to Johnson at the goal line to Fleury’s right, and Johnson seamed it to the bumper Raddysh, either at net front or the back door.
One of those connections, a tip-in attempt, nearly worked. Later Bedard found Raddysh for another tip-in that hit the right post. It was one of three near-misses and six shots on goal during the man advantage.
The second power play wasn’t nearly as sparkling, but the Hawks struck gold with their third try, using the same sequence as the first one.
This time Bedard drifted toward the high slot — which got the Wild’s attention — but Bedard again passed to Johnson at the goal line as Raddysh slipped behind defenders to the crease.
Johnson’s pass rattled between Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and Fleury and bounced in off Raddysh’s skate for a backdoor goal.
“There (were) a couple times where he was available, and we’ll find him,” Richardson said. “Maybe (we) show some of those clips even more for his shot in that area because that’s where he shoots it well, in tight, and he gets it off quick.
“I thought he was pretty strong for us tonight. He was another bright spot for us as well.”
3. Louis Crevier made his NHL debut.
Before his call-up, Crevier’s five assists in 16 games ranked second among Rockford IceHogs defensemen. Last season in Rockford, Crevier had five assists in 62 games.
Crevier, wearing No. 26, played 16 minutes in his debut and paired with Alex Vlasic as well as with Kevin Korchinski late in the game.
Crevier took a shot, had two hits and blocked a shot, though he didn’t play on the penalty kill.
Richardson said he had a good game and used his 6-foot-8, 228-pound frame.
“He played the same way like we’ve been watching him play in the American League,” Richardson said. “He played very steady and he’s in people’s way with that big body and good reach. Really, no big, glaring mistakes, and it was a good first game for him.”
4. The Hawks aren’t great at protecting the doorstep.
Entering Sunday’s game, the Hawks had allowed 11 goals on tipped shots, tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the second-most behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (13), according to NHL Stats.
With Mrázek in net, the Hawks coughed up two more goals classified as tip-ins: Marco Rossi’s first of two first-period goals and Matt Boldy’s power-play goal in the second.
Like any goal, tip-ins aren’t solely the goalie’s fault — the Hawks haven’t played consistently great defense in front of the net.
Jarred Tinordi and Connor Murphy were on the ice for all three of Minnesota’s first-period goals.
“(It) wasn’t probably their best first period, but lots of other things contributed to those goals as well.” Richardson said. “It’s not always just them. When we don’t sort out our D-zone very well up top, it usually comes back on the (defensemen) in a fast, hard way.”
Richardson said the Hawks need to follow Tinordi’s lead and play more physical, and he credited Mrázek for a good game overall.
Mrázek made some great saves, including flashing a quick glove on a point-blank shot from Rossi, but the doorstep is an area where he’s vulnerable.
He entered the game tied for fifth in the league with six tipped-shot goals allowed. Jonas Johansson topped the list with 10.
Mrázek also allowed his ninth and 10th power-play goals, passing Hawks backup Arvid Söderblom (nine).