Hawks coach has funny history with Ducks coach; Hawks fall 4-2 in Anaheim

Pro sports is a serious business.

There's pressure on players to be on their game every night and pressure on coaches to draw up the perfect game plan.

But that doesn't mean you can't have a little fun along the way, something Dallas Eakins has demonstrated time and time again when squaring off against good buddies.

While coaching in the American Hockey League, Eakins - now in his third season leading the Anaheim Ducks - used to tweak Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson by writing his name and number on the lineup sheet and then drawing a line through it.

Doing so essentially meant, "Sorry, bud. You're not playing tonight."

"The old sheets had spots for two goalies and 19 skaters," Eakins explained. "If you had an extra guy skating in warmups because someone was questionable, you would simply take your pen and draw a line through the guy who was not playing. ... But normally that line was always blank.

"So I would put his junior number and his name, then I would scratch him as a joke."

And, oh, how Richardson wishes he could return the favor.

Alas, that's not possible because all NHL lineups are now turned in electronically.

"There's no payback now," Eakins chuckled.

The bond between these two began in the mid-1980s when they were defense partners for the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes. It grew so strong that Eakins was part of Richardson's wedding party in the summer of 1989.

Eakins is also extremely tight with Hawks assistant Derek King.

Monday night was the third time the Hawks and Ducks squared off, with the winner able to claim the season series.

While some friends may fire off some smack-talking texts or make a little side wager for fun, Eakins and Richardson keep everything on the straight and narrow.

There's too much respect for each other - and for how difficult it is to win.

"I had a former coach tell me, 'Every time you win a game in the NHL they should give you a trophy - cause it's so hard,'" Eakins said. "So after a game, if Chicago's beaten us, there's no big smile. The guy understands your pain and he's just glad he got one in your pocket.

"The outcomes of the games between us really don't mean much. It's more our relationship and our love for each other."

Just as the Hawks have struggled mightily at times, so have the Ducks, who were 7-20-3 after 30 games. They've played better of late, but still owned the league's second-worst points percentage at .375 going into Monday.

The Hawks' rebuilding plan began in earnest last year when GM Kyle Davidson traded Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. It's picked up considerable speed since, with Davidson trading Jack Johnson to Colorado on Sunday, and Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty to Toronto on Monday.

And, of course, Patrick Kane could be headed to New York any day.

Knowing this was going to be a multiyear project, Davidson needed to bring in a level-headed coach who could teach a young core AND one who would have the patience to do endure some rough stretches.

That certainly seems to be Richardson.

If Davidson stays patient and doesn't panic every time a prospect stubs his skate, Eakins believes the Hawks could be a dangerous team before the decade's out.

"Go and look at the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche," said Eakins, who reminds us that 22-win squad had Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen on the roster. "I'm sure it was hard as hell for that group and (coach Jared) Bednar to finish 34 games under .500. ... Now you have a Stanley Cup-winning coach.

"But they had to endure that (losing first). ... By that year being so difficult, they learned some great lessons, and then they got just an unbelievable piece in the draft."

That piece was Cale Makar, who at just 23 won the Norris Trophy for league's best defenseman and the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP of the playoffs last season.

Only time will tell if the Hawks have begun adding pieces like that in D-man Kevin Korchinski, forward Frank Nazar and others.

If they have, Eakins has no doubt that those two young players - as well as every other key piece that's coming - will reach their full potential as long as Richardson and King are around.

"The great saying I always love to use is, 'They're never gonna care how much you know until they know how much you care,'" Eakins said. "And believe me, I am highly biased because I know Luke and Derek King inside out; they're two of my closest friends.

"Those two guys certainly care about all of those players in that organization very, very much."

Ducks 4, Blackhawks 2:

Tyler Johnson (8) and Andreas Athanasiou (13) scored for the Hawks on Monday, but the host Ducks snapped a 2-2 tie late in the second period and went on to post their third straight victory. Max Jones scored from in tight at 19:42 of the second after taking a pass from Mason McTavish. Troy Terry made it 4-2 at 8:15 of the third period when his backhand shot deflected off Hawks forward Max Domi and into the net.

Domi extended his point streak to seven games with 2 assists. He has 4 goals and 10 assists over that time.

The Hawks, who had a five-game winning streak snapped, close out their road trip at Arizona on Tuesday.