Blackhawks D-man Hjalmarsson just keeps scoring

What in the world has gotten into Niklas Hjalmarsson?

The human shield of a defenseman has suddenly become a Blackhawks scoring machine, notching his career-best fifth goal during a 5-2 victory over Nashville at the United Center on Sunday.

"It's obviously fun to contribute," Hjalmarsson said. "That's just how I look at it. I always get really happy when I score."

So what's going on? New stick?

Nope. "Same old good stick," he said.

Taking more shots?

Nope. He's on pace for 78, which is exactly his average over an 82-game season.

A bit of luck? Now we might be getting somewhere.

"I think I could have had a couple more goals the past seasons, too," he said. "Sometimes you get those lucky bounces. It's been going in so far, so hopefully it'll keep going."

Hjalmarsson, a staple on the Hawks' penalty-killing unit, has always been known as a stay-at-home defenseman who is willing to risk life and limb to prevent an opponent from scoring.

Remember this classic quote from St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock during last year's playoffs?

"I don't understand him as a player," Hitchcock said. "It looks like you need five stretchers on the end of the bench for this guy, and yet he keeps on playing. I don't get the guy.

"He won't go down or when he goes down, they carry him off and he does a U-turn and he's back playing."

So, yes - Hjalmarsson is as tough as they come.

But scoring has not been Hjalmarsson's forte as the 29-year-old Swede entered this season with 18 goals in 550 games, meaning he averaged 2.7 goals per 82 games. This season he's on pace for 10 scores and he sports a shooting percentage of 12.5, which is third best in the league among D-men who have played in at least 20 games.

"He's worked on trying to get his shot quicker," said coach Joel Quenneville. "He's got good judgment of (when he should be) sneaking in or getting off the point into the attack in the front of the net.

"He had some great looks where all of a sudden he's all alone by the goalie. Guys see him in that area, too. He's probably got a little more confidence coming off the point and he's shooting the puck better."

Against the Predators on Sunday, Hjalmarsson's goal gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead 14:04 into the first period. His shot found its way past Pekka Rinne thanks in large part to the 6-foot-4, 198-pound Artem Anisimov shielding Nashville's goaltender.

"It was a great play overall," Hjalmarsson said. "Everybody was moving. It's tough to defend, and Arty did a great job being in front of the net and I managed to get the puck through."

With Duncan Keith stuck on 1 goal and Brent Seabrook with just 2, the Hawks will certainly take it.

• Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh

Hjammer time

Here's a recap of Niklas Hjalmarsson's 5 goals this season. The Blackhawks are 4-1-0 when the defenseman scores.

• In the second game of the season, Hjalmarsson shot from 35 feet out and beat Nashville's Pekka Rinne, thanks in part to a screen by Jonathan Toews. It gave the Hawks a 2-1 first-period lead, but they would go on to lose 3-2.

• On Nov. 1 against Calgary, Hjalmarsson slipped into the middle of the Hawks' O zone, took a pass from Richard Panik and from the left dot blew it past goalie Brian Elliott for the final goal of a 5-1 Hawks victory.

• On Dec. 1, a bad turnover by the New Jersey Devils in their zone allowed the puck to squirt to Hjalmarsson, who wristed a shot past Cory Schneider to give Hawks a 3-2 lead late in second period. The Hawks won 4-3 in overtime.

• On Dec. 17 at St. Louis, Hjalmarsson tied the game at 4-4 when he one-timed a shot from the right point 60 seconds into the third period. The Hawks won 6-4.

• On Sunday, Hjalmarsson gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead over Nashville at 14:04 of the first period when he faked a shot, moved slightly to his left, then unleashed a laser that Pekka Rinne never saw thanks to a screen by Artem Anisimov. The Hawks won 5-2.

- John Dietz