Back with Blackhawks, Gustafsson's goal rare bright spot in rout
Before Saturday, the last time Erik Gustafsson played an NHL game he was being blamed for the most painful goal of the 2015-16 season.
It came on April 25, 2016 when St. Louis' Troy Brouwer took advantage of Gustafsson's turnover and gave the Blues a 3-2 lead with 11:29 remaining in Game 7 of the teams' first-round playoff series.
Neither team scored again and the Hawks were sent home early for the first time in four years.
"It sat bad for me the whole summer for sure," Gustafsson said. "It was a tough time."
Gustafsson, who played 41 games in 2015-16, spent last season in Rockford. He was one of the last cuts last October and worked on being a more consistent player with the IceHogs.
He finally earned a call-up on Jan. 9 and after sitting four straight games, was paired with Brent Seabrook during the Hawks' loss to the Islanders at the United Center on Saturday.
Gustafsson was one of the few bright spots, assisting on Patrick Kane's game-opening goal 61 seconds in and scoring his first NHL goal late in the second period to cut New York's lead to 4-2.
"I want to play every game and help the team make the playoffs," said Gustafsson, who had 3 goals and 14 assists in 25 games with Rockford. "I'm going to do my best out there. If it's 10 or 20 minutes today we'll just see."
Coach Joel Quenneville said Gustafsson came into camp with a good attitude and he's excited to see what the offensive-minded Swede can add to the Hawks' attack.
"(He) likes to join in, likes to jump into (the rush), and defensively he's been fine as well," Quenneville said. "Plays both sides now, which gives us options. … We look forward to seeing what he can do, but we like the offense on the back end particularly."
Bonus bye week:
It's been a strange two weeks for Anthony Duclair. After enjoying Arizona's bye week from Jan. 7-10 as a member of the Coyotes, Duclair got some bonus time off shortly after being traded to the Hawks on Jan. 11.
Rather than going to Mexico or another warm climate for a second time, though, Duclair stayed in Chicago. He skated a couple of times, found a place to live and got "all settled in."
Duclair, whom the Hawks acquired for Richard Panik, started Saturday's game against the Islanders skating with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad.
"It's awesome," said the 5-foot-11, 191-pound winger who is just 22 years old. "It's a great opportunity for me and something I won't take for granted for sure. Two great players. I'm really excited to play with them."
Slap shots:
The Hawks still believe Artem Anisimov can return from an upper-body injury Monday when they host Tampa Bay. … The Islanders have won eight straight games on Saturdays. They also won for the first time in Chicago since March 15, 2009. … Tomas Jurco, Michal Kempny and Connor Murphy were the Hawks' healthy scratches Saturday. … Blackhawks Heat Athletic Trainer Mike Gapski and Assistant Athletic Trainer Jeff Thomas will serve on the athletic training staff for the all-star teams next weekend in Tampa Bay. … Rockford is 4-0-3 in its last seven games and 22-15-5 overall. The IceHogs scored 3 goals in the third period Friday to beat Cleveland 4-3. Matthew Highmore snapped a 2-2 tie with his team-leading 18th goal of the season.