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DALLAS \u2014 For a good five minutes after practice Wednesday, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson and forward Lukas Reichel stood by the boards, talking and gesturing throughout a deep conversation.<\/p>\n
Richardson and Reichel have had quite a few such conversations over the last year, and they\u2019ve rarely been positive. This time, however, it was positive \u2014 because Reichel\u2019s recent play justified it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s trying to shoot pucks more, and he\u2019s not cheating on the offensive side,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cHe\u2019s playing hard in the stick battles. He\u2019s showing he wants to stay in the lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201c[I was] just saying he\u2019s doing good things. Same as when someone\u2019s struggling and…you try to talk to them and bring them back, you want to make sure you talk to them when they do something well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reichel translated those affirmations into another solid performance Friday against the Predators, and Richardson rewarded him by promoting him to first-line left wing Saturday against the Stars.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Reichel has gone from playing with Craig Smith and Pat Maroon to playing with Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen. His healthy scratches on the opening road trip feel like ancient history, even though he didn\u2019t do much Saturday and ended up logging only 12:33 of ice time.<\/p>\n
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Friday, however, featured one of his best plays to date at the NHL level. He set up Smith\u2019s opening goal by slicing between two Predators and curling around a third to open a lane for the centering pass.<\/p>\n
That sequence demonstrated his elite skating ability in the perfect way: He didn\u2019t burn calories blazing around the rink without a purpose but utilized his best skill to break down a defense. And he followed up that moment with several more threatening offensive plays and responsible defensive recoveries.<\/p>\n
\u201c[I\u2019m building] the killer instinct to want the puck and be selfish out there because it makes everyone else better,\u201d Reichel said. \u201cI\u2019m still passing when it\u2019s a two-on-zero, probably. But they said I\u2019ve got to be more selfish, and that\u2019s what I try to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his quietness Saturday, he still touts three points in his last four games. By comparison, he recorded three points in a four-game span just twice last season across 65 total appearances.<\/p>\n
But a four-game sample is small, and that\u2019s especially relevant in this case because consistency has historically eluded Reichel. He has shown occasional flashes at the NHL level, but those flashes have never extended into confidence-building, identity-establishing, long-term momentum.<\/p>\n
Can he do it this time? He believes so. He believes it because he has found and adopted a mental approach that works for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going into the game saying, \u2018I\u2019m going to score two tonight,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going into the game trying to do two or three things right, or as much as I can. That\u2019s when you get your chances and you create that confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawks skills coach Brian Keane has spent a lot of one-on-one time with him, analyzing specifics such as ways he can create more space with skating and puck-control subtleties. That work has not only improved his overall play but also has given him many potential little things to focus on within that aforementioned mentality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve noticed, like, when the puck goes away from him, he\u2019s on his toes and he\u2019s backchecking,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cYou [used to] see disappointment in his body language, and [now you\u2019re] seeing his body language is very good. He reacts really well without the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawks\u2019 overall improvement \u2014 despite their subpar 2-6-1 record \u2014 seems to be benefitting Reichel, as well.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re collectively spending more time with the puck and less time swamped in their defensive zone. Considering he isn\u2019t \u2014 and probably never will be \u2014 anything close to a defensive specialist, that plays more to his strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have the puck more, it\u2019s easier for me to create something,\u201d Reichel said. \u201cLast year was just not like that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reichel’s impressive play in the Hawks’ previous three games earned him a promotion onto Connor Bedard’s first line Saturday. Now comes the big question: Can he finally maintain success at the NHL level?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n