The Chicago Blackhawks resumed practicing at Fifth Third Arena on Monday after taking a week off during the NHL All-Star break.
Tyler Johnson participated in drills without a no-contact jersey, while Connor Bedard (jaw) and Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist) worked out while wearing green no-contact jerseys.
“Murph (Connor Murphy) got on the ice yesterday, but today he wasn’t, so it’s just slow progression for him,” coach Luke Richardson said. “Beauvillier is skating but he’s got a brace on his hand or wrist so he’s not able to handle a puck or shoot yet, so that’s still probably a couple weeks away.”
The Hawks are scheduled to practice again on Tuesday before hosting the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, the first of nine home games this month.
Here are six things we learned.
1. Bedard takes another step.
Still healing from a broken jaw, Bedard didn’t take part in any drills, but he took hard shots during his workout and has been ramping up his conditioning.
He had been restricted from shots or any exertion that would cause him to clench his teeth.
But that tangible sign of progress doesn’t mean his timeline has accelerated.
“I think he can start to practice a little bit, but non-contact drills,” Richardson said.
The coach said Bedard is evaluated weekly by doctors, who’ll determine how soon he can resume regular practices, even if the team tries to minimize contact.
“Yeah, because you turn the wrong way in a zone drill and your face is right into someone’s shoulder,” Richardson said. “We won’t be allowed to do anything like that, as much as he wants to.
“That’s a doctor’s call, so that keeps all of us out of it.”
2. Is Johnson ready to go?
Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson passes the puck during the first period against the Washington Capitals at the United Center on Dec. 10, 2023.
Johnson missed 14 games with a foot injury he sustained during the Dallas trip.
He wasn’t available to the media after practice, but the plan is for him to play Wednesday against the Wild, “unless something comes up (during practice) tomorrow that he’s sore,” Richardson said.
“But he said after (today’s practice) that he felt good, so he’s ready to go.”
Despite Johnson’s absence, he ranks third on the offensive-needy Hawks with nine goals (tied with Nick Foligno) and has four assists.
Colin Blackwell said, “Anytime you get somebody like T.J. back. … He’s won a couple Stanley Cups, and then just his presence in the room, on top of some of the leadership and offensive abilities that he brings, it’s awesome to see him in a jersey (showing) that he’s ready to play.”
3. Favorite All-Star moments?
Bedard didn’t put on the pads to try to race Connor McDavid, but he still got a healthy taste of his first All-Star weekend in Toronto as a passer in the one-timer challenge and just overall as an observer.
“That’s a great experience for him,” Richardson said. “I know it wasn’t full-fledged, but it was still nice to see him out there, mingling with the tops of the league.”
Several of the players only caught video clips from All-Star weekend — from McDavid winning the $1 million skills competition to celebrity captain Justin Beiber’s puffy polka-dot jacket — but all acknowledged the real talker was Nikita Kucherov’s nonchalant effort (and that’s generous) during the passing and stickhandling drills, which drew boos from fans in Toronto.
Nikita Kucherov wants absolutely nothing to do with the NHL All Star Skills Competition#NHLAllStar | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/HqxVaUgF7r
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 3, 2024
Lukas Reichel smiled when it was brought up.
“I don’t want to say anything about it,” he said sheepishly. “I think it’s funny, but I don’t know him. … I don’t know if he was trying, but it was funny.”
Joey Anderson said fans are entitled to their opinions, but “he’s one of the best players in the world and that’s up to him.”
Alex Vlasic was less forgiving.
“I feel like if you’re invited there, you kind of have the responsibility to try your best and show off for the fans,” he said. “I feel like it’s a little bit maybe disrespectful to just the whole thing. People paid to go and watch some of the best players in the world play the game, and to see that? I don’t know. …
“It’s 30 seconds of a drill. It’s not like you’re going to kill yourself by exerting too much energy,” Vlasic laughed.
4. Reichel realized during the break — he didn’t break.
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Lukas Reichel turns before celebrating his goal against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 19, 2023, at the United Center.
Vlasic spent the break in Florida.
“We were in Fort Myers, me and my girlfriend,” he said, adding that her grandparents hosted them. “Some pool, some hot tubs, walking around enjoying the sunlight.”
Isaak Phillips visited Las Vegas with his girlfriend.
“The front half of the break was good to just get away from the game, see a couple of shows and some concerts, it was fun,” Phillips said. “And then it’s good to just decompress.
“That was like the first time I’ve ever had a week off in the middle of my hockey career, I think, ever. It’s been go, go, go since we’ve been training in June.”
Reichel, however, was stay-cation all the way.
“So many guys went to Mexico or whatever, but I like Chicago and my parents like it too,” he said. “We went to a nice dinner, I walked around, it was actually good weather. So I just enjoyed the city.”
He also enjoyed the company.
After a rough first half of the season — in which he was healthy-scratched a handful of times — Reichel’s father, a former hockey player in Germany, helped him keep his head together and put everything into perspective.
“We talked a little bit about the season and there are always ups and downs,” Reichel said. “So he said, ‘It’s normal.’ So as long as I work hard, I should be good.”
Martin Reichel doesn’t so much coach his son on the X’s and O’s but has helped guide him on the emotional pitfalls throughout the season.
“I feel like I’m always hard on myself,” Lukas Reichel said. “Like after a game, I call him and I’m mad and like, ‘I played like (crap)!’ And he always tries to motivate me and say, ‘Next game.’”
Richardson also talked to Reichel on Monday to remind him how he played against the Flames.
“I said that’s his best game I’ve seen in a long time,” Richardson said. “He really looked to take charge and (broke) free when there were openings and I think he could’ve done it even more in that game.
“If he would’ve scored on that one break in the second period, maybe that opens it up when he gets two or three chances like that and gets more than one in the net.”
Whether Reichel improves on the stat sheet, he has improved his mental game, which could serve him later.
“I feel like maybe in a couple of years, if I’m down again, I’ll remember that (time) and then you know what you have to do, and that definitely helps,” he said.
5. Homing in on a better start after the break.
Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson relays some information to his team in overtime of a game against the San Jose Sharks at the United Center on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.
The Hawks play 10 of the next 11 games at the United Center, as favorable a launch pad as any team could ask for its final 32 games.
The Hawks are better at home, or perhaps “less terrible” is more appropriate.
They’re 10-11-1 with a minus-25 goal differential at home and 4-23-1 on the road (minus-41).
Richardson hopes to recapture the chemistry the Hawks showed during a 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames, even though they didn’t score.
“We had a great start, we really pressured them,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a game that had six breakaways for one team, other than a shootout game, so keep going.”
The Hawks had 28 games on the road and 22 at home.
“The schedule has been tough for us,” Anderson said. “The process has been pretty good in (building) our style of play, but I think just guys can take a step away, regroup, maybe get a little extra juice, and that’ll lead to good things coming back.”
With only one road game this month, the schedule also gives a banged-up locker room more time to heal.
“Just less wear and tear on everybody and (we) can focus more on practice, get a little more practice time,” Richardson said. “This will be a big month for us.”
6. Phillips wants that chance back.
Isaak Phillips was HUSTLING! Hawks have had a ton of scoring chances so far, but just haven’t been able to finish whatsoever, as has mostly been the case since Bedard went down. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/6B8Ylmr2zS
— Rink Intel (@RinkIntel) January 28, 2024
Phillips had a signature moment in Calgary. After breaking up a Flames chance, he nabbed a loose puck in the Hawks’ end, raced up the ice and split two defenders before finishing off the rush with a backhand shot.
“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking at all,” he said. “My old coach used to say, ‘You don’t get paid to think, you get paid to play.’ So it just felt like it was instinct, just pick up the play and get my feet moving.”
The only way the sequence could’ve ended better would be if he had scored.
Phillips thought about passing.
“I was thinking like we’ve been working on three-on-twos, just trying to drive the middle a little bit and then kick it out, (but) they played the kick-out,” he said. “So I was like, all right, I’m going to try to hold it and see what happens. I should’ve went to the forehand.
“We tried the backhand six times already that game, so next time I’ll go forehand,” Phillips laughed.
