Blackhawks' Gilbert, Quenneville, Highmore impress vs. Isles. Can they keep it up?
Robin Lehner is nothing if not realistic.
The Blackhawks' goalie knows a 10-game winning streak — or maybe even a 6- or 7-game run — may never come for his 16-17-6 team.
Lehner is more hoping that slow and steady gets the job done over the next three-plus months.
“Everyone's like, ‘Yeah, we've got to go on a 10-game run,'” Lehner said after making 38 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Islanders on Friday.
“I just don't look at it that way. If we can win two out of three going forward, we're going to climb.”
The Hawks are 6-5-1 over the last 12 games and 4-2-0 over the last six.
Against the Isles, several young players showed flashes of how they may be able to help coach Jeremy Colliton's squad play .667 hockey in the coming weeks.
• The scrappy Matthew Highmore put 4 shots on goal in just under 10 minutes and scored early in the third period to make it 5-1.
• John Quenneville, skating with Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik, was quite noticeable in his 14 minutes. Not only did Quenneville nearly score on a nice feed from Toews, but he did a fantastic job keeping the puck in the offensive zone with Toews moments before Kubalik scored midway through the first period to make it 2-1. He also dished out a team-high 5 hits.
• Defenseman Dennis Gilbert notched his first NHL goal by activating in the offensive zone and sweeping a backhanded shot past Thomas Greiss at 7:34 of the first period. He also laid down to block a second-period shot while New York was on the power play, possibly thwarting a goal that would have trimmed the Hawks' lead to 3-2.
There's little doubt the hard-hitting, defensive-minded Gilbert has been the most consistent call-up from Rockford thus far.
“He had a (heck of a) game — blocked a lot of good shots,” Lehner said. “He steps up for us every game and he deserves a lot of credit.”
Gilbert, a third-round pick in 2015, has racked up 59 hits — notching 3 or more in 13 of 15 appearances — and he's already engaged in four fights.
More importantly, the 23-year-old appears more comfortable in all phases of the game.
“I wouldn't say I would get nervous, but I didn't want to make a mistake,” Gilbert said of the three games he played in October. “I didn't want to look like I was out of place.
“This time I wasn't expecting (the call-up) at all. I was like, ‘I'm just going to play it like I've been playing in the American League and in college.' ...
“I feel normal now and feel like I can help contribute in different ways.”
And that is exactly what the Hawks need out of him. And Quenneville. And Highmore. And plenty of other rookies going forward.
“As a rookie, you don't want to step on any toes or make mistakes and have coaches or teammates be on you for things,” said veteran defenseman Connor Murphy. “So you're nervous and don't know how it's going to go at first.
“As soon as you realize that everyone believes in you as much as you believe in yourself, then you can relax and play their game and make a big impact. ...
“I think we have seven rookies, so it's important for them to be playing confident. ... In order to be a playoff team and to string wins together — not just to win here and there — you have to have those games where other guys can make a difference.”