The Blackhawks had a couple poor line changes Saturday against the Capitals.
Nick Wass/AP Photos
The Blackhawks have had a few shaky or poorly coordinated line changes recently.
Rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski's premature change last weekend against the Blue Jackets prompted coach Luke Richardson and assistant Kevin Dean to be on his tail for several days. Shortly before that, Boris Katchouk was at fault for one — one of a handful of boneheaded plays (along with a handful of shockingly impressive plays) that characterized his now-finished Hawks tenure.
But the Hawks’ loss Saturday against the Capitals was a particularly rough game for line changes. First, the Hawks were whistled for too many men early in the second period when Korchinski and Jarred Tinordi got mixed up as the puck skittered right by the bench.
"Korchinski just jumped a little too prematurely there for Tinordi to turn back," Richardson said. "He wasn’t even on his way to the bench. Sometimes you take your eye off the guy coming [when] you think he’s coming. You have to really pay attention and watch, for sure."
Later in the period, defensemen Jaycob Megna and Seth Jones got mixed up in a similar situation, but the most blame fell on forward Zach Sanford — making just his second appearance since Feb. 17 — who tripped without dumping the puck in and then inexplicably sent it the wrong direction along the bench boards while sitting on the ice. That gave the Capitals a two-on-one rush that Sonny Milano converted.
"You’ve got to get that puck in somehow," Richardson said. "If you can’t, you maybe flip it in the bench. ... We’ll take an icing over that. So those [situations] are just managing the puck in certain times. You’ve got to take care of everybody on the ice."
Veteran forward Tyler Johnson heard his name’s inclusion in rumors and speculation leading up to the NHL trade deadline Friday, but that passed without him getting moved.
He will likely still need to find a new home this summer when his contract expires, but he's content finishing out this season in Chicago. He entered Sunday as the Hawks' second-leading scorer since Feb. 12, tallying nine points in his last 12 games. Connor Bedard leads the team with 10 points during that span; Foligno also touts nine.
"It's [a] relief knowing now where I'm at, right?" Johnson said. "It's always a little tough with the uncertainty of everything. I'm happy to be here, though. I love our team, I love our guys and I'm here to battle and work for the remainder of the season."
When Hawks prospect forward Landon Slaggert said in late January that he planned to sign with the Hawks after his senior season ended, his focus was still very much on trying to get Notre Dame into the NCAA tournament.
That ultimately didn't come to fruition, though, as Notre Dame lost eight of their final 10 games beyond that point — including a pair of heartbreakers against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend.
That means Slaggert's college career is over after recording 92 points in 136 games — including a team-leading 31 in 36 games this season. He's free to sign his first pro contract with the Hawks at any time. It's not certain yet that he'll elect to burn the first of his three entry-level years on this season's stretch run, but it seems likely.
"He just continued that style of play — the relentless, high-compete style — and added a little bit of offense this year, which was good to see and good for his confidence," Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson said Friday.
