Dietz: Moore’s birthday wishes include standing up for Hawks teammates

Those of you who have celebrated your 21st birthday hopefully have fond memories of the day.

Well, the parts you can remember.

The decisions we make can be equal parts good and bad. Many, no doubt, provide fits of riotous laughter.

Blackhawks' forward Oliver Moore can certainly relate on all levels after his eventful birthday Friday night in Carolina, one that included a fight, an assist and a game-winning shootout goal.

“It was a good way to ring it in,” Moore told reporters afterward. “Got beat up. Won a hockey game. So that's all that matters.”

Moore, like many of us who overdid it, made a questionable decision by initiating a second-period fight with Hurricanes rookie Alexander Nikishin after Nikishin delivered a booming hit on Nick Lardis.

The three-second “bout” featured the 218-pound Nikishin clobbering the 188-pound Moore to the ice with a nasty 1-2 punch.

“He's a big boy and Russian,” a gashed-up Moore told reporters afterward. “I actually talked to him a little bit. Said it was his first fight too. Can't buy that.”

Moore turned the tables, though, by burying the game-winning shot in the shootout. He also assisted on Lardis' goal early in the second period that gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead.

Hopefully Moore enjoyed a cold one or two on the plane ride home. Because, boy, did he earn it.

Moore was drafted in 2023 with the 19th overall pick, a selection made possible when GM Kyle Davidson sent Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He spent two seasons sharpening his skills at the University of Minnesota, scoring 21 goals and dishing out 45 assists in 77 games.

Moore possesses world-class speed and is just scratching the surface of what he can do as a pro. The Minnesota native has 5 goals and 11 assists in 39 games while averaging a modest 13 minutes, six seconds of ice time.

He's part of a group that seems to have the Hawks on the verge of another run of dominance. The Hawks have 22 goals and 55 assists from rookies. Those numbers rank third and first, respectively, through Jan. 23.

One of those players is Lardis, who was called up on Dec. 13 after Connor Bedard injured his shoulder at St. Louis. The bond they share is apparent. I mean, how many guys would drop the gloves with an opponent who outweighs you by 30 pounds?

“I just saw Lardy get hit pretty hard and I know Nikishin's a rookie,” Moore said. “I knew we didn't have a ton of momentum … so I just wanted to try to spark the boys a little bit. Obviously I haven't really worked on fighting — as you could probably tell (laughs). But I just wanted to stand in there for him.

“I think anyone on our team would do that for anyone. That's the kind of culture we try to build in here — just trying to stand up for each other.”

That culture — along with plenty of talent — has allowed the Hawks to surprise much of the league. Winning at Carolina — where the Hurricanes are 18-8-2 — is quite a feat. Then came Friday night, when the Hawks went toe to toe with Tampa Bay, earning a point in a 2-1 shootout loss. The Lightning (32-13-4) are riding a league-best 15-game point streak.

Jeff Blashill deserves plenty of credit, but like any good coach he'd just redirect it — which is exactly what he did in Moore's case Friday.

“I was just proud of him,” Blashill said. “That's his teammate, that's his buddy and he's gonna stick up for him. You've got to do some things like that. He came out of it all right, and I was really happy for him to be able to go out and end the game.

“It was fitting. … You stick up for your teammate and you get a chance to finish it and win the game. That's karma.”

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.