Reichel gets extended look as Blackhawks' season winds down

Fancy plays at the wrong time are sure to draw the ire of every NHL coach.

Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel understands this, but bad habits can be tough to break.

Case in point: During a first-period shift Monday against Ottawa at the United Center, Reichel tried doing "a little one-foot uptick" at the blue line instead of using his skill with the puck by skating it into the offensive zone.

The resulting turnover forced Reichel to retreat and play defense.

Then came the worst part: The skate of shame back to the bench.

"All the coaches were chomping at the bit, waiting for him to get off," a smiling coach Luke Richardson said Tuesday. "We were fighting over each other for who was getting to him first.

"And he came and he already knew. You could see he had the red in his cheeks. We were like, 'Reichsy, that's not for here, not for this league, not for you. You're too good of a player.'"

The Hawks have seen plenty of good from Reichel during his most recent call-up from the Rockford IceHogs. The first-round pick from 2020 took a three-game point streak into Friday's game at Florida, with a goal and 2 assists.

He scored against the Senators by sweeping the puck past goalie Mads Sogaard after executing a gorgeous forehand-backhand on a breakaway. Two nights later, Reichel fed Taylor Raddysh on a 2-on-1 rush, leading to Raddysh's first goal of the game during a 4-3 loss at Detroit.

Reichel held his own against the bigger, heavier Panthers and nearly gave the Hawks a 3-0 second-period lead, but he was thwarted by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida hung around and scored 3 third-period goals in 4:13, then escaped with a 4-3 win on Brandon Montour's goal at 2:43 of overtime. The Hawks, who took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Caleb Jones and Boris Katchouk, tied it at 3-3 when Cole Guttman scored with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. It was Guttman's fourth goal in 13 games.

Petr Mrázek was tremendous in net, making 36 saves in regulation, including one on a Marc Staal wrister with a second remaining.

"You know what, they pushed," Richardson said of the Panthers. "We knew they were gonna be desperate. They're playing for a playoff spot. I thought we persevered ... and never gave up. That's been kind of our M.O. all year and it's really good to see the guys not get discouraged (after) letting a team climb back into a game and take the lead.

"We stayed composed and calm and did the job to get it to overtime, and unfortunately they got the bounce."

Reichel, who has 2 goals and 4 assists in nine games with the Hawks, is expected to help lead the IceHogs once the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs begin. In the meantime, he's gaining valuable NHL experience.

To be sure, there are going to be rough moments - like the "fancy play" against Ottawa. But Richardson was quick to follow that example with two that pleased the staff later in that 5-0 victory over the Senators:

• "With about five minutes left in the game, he stole a puck in the D-zone, skated toward the red line, knew he couldn't dump it in for a non-icing, and he has the skillset and ability (to) lay an alley-oop over the D's heads ... so we can get the change," Richardson said. "That's just smart, intelligent hockey. I know guys that have watched him play in Rockford the last few years (say) that's a big step for him - to not try to stickhandle through four guys, turn the puck over and get another point in the game."

• In the third period, Ottawa bad boy Brady Tkachuk had Reichel in his sights for a bone-crunching hit, but Reichel saw it coming, stood his ground and absorbed the blow. That kind of awareness is a must if the 6-foot, 170-pound Reichel wants to have a long, injury-free career. "He's got to be aware of not just where the puck is," Richardson said, "but who's on the ice and what type of players they are."

The Hawks (22-37-6) were outshot 43-24 and went 0-for-6 on the power play. Jujhar Khaira (2 assists) and Jarred Tinordi (3 hits, 3 blocks) had strong games and were named alternate captains by Richardson. Seth Jones saw a season-high ice time of 28:09.

The Hawks close out a three-game road trip Saturday at Tampa Bay.