Dietz: Hawks’ Foligno ‘like a little kid’ for shootout opportunity

As the Blackhawks-Capitals game reached the sixth round of the shootout Saturday in Washington, coach Jeff Blashill hollered for Nick Foligno to take the next attempt.

The 38-year-old captain almost couldn't believe his ears.

“I looked like a little kid when he called my name,” Foligno told reporters. “I remember popping up and looking at him all excited. I didn't even give him a chance to second guess it.

“I just jumped right on the ice.”

Despite 248 regular-season goals, the hard-nosed Foligno missed on the first 13 shootout attempts of his career. That finally changed Saturday.

Foligno cruised into the offensive zone and settled the puck about 25 feet from the net. He then took one look at goaltender Logan Thompson, who was crouched down to about half his height, and whipped the puck over Thompson's glove for the game-winner.

Foligno was mobbed at center ice in a scene reminiscent of Brent Seabrook's 11th-round shootout winner on Dec. 1, 2009.

“I'm like 0-fer in my whole career, so I'm like, 'I need this,'” Foligno said. “I'm at the point now where I don't (care) anymore. I was pumped to go out there.”

It was an impressive all-around performance by the Hawks, who improved to 4-1-1 in their last six games after Sunday’s tough 3-2 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights at the United Center. The Hawks' victories came over 25-9-7 Dallas (twice) and 21-15-6 Washington. They also lost to the Islanders (23-15-4) in a shootout.

Coach Jeff Blashill's squad is still playing without centers Connor Bedard (shoulder) and Frank Nazar (jaw). There is good news on both fronts, as Bedard began skating last week and Nazar should be able to return in the next couple of weeks.

Their loss has been felt up and down the lineup, but the short-handed Hawks have finally figured out how to grind out a few wins.

“Listen, I don't know how many teams can really handle losing some of their best players — especially down the middle,” Foligno said. “It kind of throws your team off balance for a little bit. I think we've started to balance ourselves again and realize how we need to play and get to our identity.”

Foligno has a point, but it's also a reminder to general manager Kyle Davidson of how important it is to have quality depth players at every position. As the Hawks mature into a playoff contender, it's imperative Davidson signs solid veterans like Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Ilya Mikheyev, Ryan Donato and Andre Burakovsky. These are the glue guys that help teams stay afloat when the inevitable injuries strike.

Bertuzzi’s hat trick lifted the Hawks to Sunday’s win over Vegas, giving him 22 goals on the season.

Donato, who signed a four-year extension last off-season, has followed up a 31-goal campaign with 10 goals in his first 41 games. He opened the scoring against Washington with a perfect deflection of a long shot from rookie D-man Artyom Levshunov.

Teravainen disappointed a bit last year, but he's now on pace for almost 20 goals. His power-play tally in the second period gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead over Washington.

Mikheyev (4 goals in last six games) and Burakovsky (points in 20 of 37 games) have also played well of late.

“Guys are finding ways to make plays at right moments,” Foligno said.

Not exactly classic locations

One quick thought for the league: Please, for the love of God, stop holding the Winter Classic in locations like Miami, Seattle and Dallas. (How many of you even knew about this year's game at LoanDepot Park in Florida? The Panthers beat the Rangers 5-1 in case you care).

Rotating locations for the All Star Game is fine, but the Winter Classic ought to be held in cold-weather cities. And, honestly, why not put a heavy emphasis on the Original Six locations of Chicago, Boston, New York, Detroit, Toronto and Montreal? Throw other cities a bone with other outdoor games.

But the Classic should be in classic stadiums, showcasing the sport's stars and the history of the NHL. You would grow a new fan base while re-energizing die-hards who are no doubt distracted by the NFL and College Football Playoffs.

John Dietz, a sports writer at the Daily Herald from 1998-2024, covered the Blackhawks from 2014-24. You can reach him at jdietz6917@hotmail.com.