Blackhawks rookie Motte making an impression
After the Blackhawks' 5-1 victory over Calgary on Tuesday, Tyler Motte appeared at his locker stall to talk to reporters about what had to be the prettiest goal of the game.
The rookie winger described the goal, then our attention turned to Motte's insanely swollen lip.
How the heck did that happen?
"On the bench, someone sailed one in there," said Motte, who added with a smile: "Some guys might think I look better now than before."
Motte's certainly looking plenty good for the Hawks after 10 games, having scored 3 goals and showing the versatility to play on the top line, the third line and on the ever-improving penalty kill.
Motte's goal against the Flames came 12:34 into the third period and gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead. Brent Seabrook and Nick Schmaltz registered assists on the play, and Motte was smart enough to give each of them credit even though he stole the show with an incredible individual effort once the puck was on his stick.
"A couple of great plays," Motte said. "Seabs made a great play in the corner to get the puck up the wing. Schmaltzy made an even better play, chipping it by their D-man.
"The bench was yelling, 'Speed!', so I just tried to take him wide and happened to get the puck to the weak side of the net there and (slid) one in."
Trust me, if you haven't seen it, log on to NHL.com and take a look. It will be well worth your time.
"Great goal," said coach Joel Quenneville. "One of the nicer ones we've seen. Timing was excellent (too). It was very big."
Of the four rookie wingers on the Hawks, Motte has definitely stood out the most, flashing some serious speed and power in almost every game.
Motte's not perfect, mind you, and certainly showed that in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Flames on Oct. 24. In that game, Motte took a penalty that led to the Flames' first goal and he later took a double minor when his stick caught T.J. Brodie and drew blood.
Those transgressions drew the ire of Quenneville in the postgame interview session.
"Yeah, he's gotta learn," Quenneville said afterward. "Sometimes there are penalties to take you don't mind, but a lot of time penalties change the complexion and momentum of the game."
Of course, no rookie is going to be immune from mistakes in his first season and Motte certainly seems to be a fast learner as he owned up to the slip-ups the next day.
"We've got to be disciplined as a team," Motte said. "And myself, I've taken a few too many penalties this year (especially) with the PK struggling."
Motte certainly wasn't paying lip service on that day as he's yet to take another penalty since.
And no matter how his face looks now, that's a beautiful thing to the Hawks.
• Follow John's Hawks reports on Twitter @johndietzdh.
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Colorado Avalanche, 7:30 p.m. Thursday at United Center
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: The Avs (4-4-0) got off to a nice start but have dropped three of four, scoring just 6 goals in those games. … Only Matt Duchene (5 goals) and Joe Colborne (3) have more than 2 goals thus far. … Semyon Varlamov has allowed 5 goals in two of his last three games, but the veteran netminder has really had the Hawks' number the past three seasons, going 8-1-1 with a .953 save percentage. Included in that stretch was an incredible 54-save shutout performance in a 2-0 Colorado win on Jan. 6, 2015. … Going into Wednesday's games, the Hawks' Artem Anisimov led the league with 13 points and was tied for the league-lead in goals with Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos (7).
Next: Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena, 7 p.m. Saturday
- John Dietz