Hawks hoping to see more big blasts from Bickell
If rookie left wing Bryan Bickell has shown anything in his first full season with the Blackhawks, it's that he has a wicked wrist shot.
The problem for Bickell is getting more of them off.
Bickell has scored the opening goal in each of the last two games on hard wrist shots from nearly the identical spot in the deep slot.
Bickell has 6 goals on only 35 shots, which makes his scoring percentage among the highest on the team. But that shot total is tied with Jake Dowell for the lowest on the club among forwards who average at least 12 minutes of ice time.
“I just need to find the soft spots and find the open ice to get the puck off,” Bickell said. “I would like to say I have a good shot, and I need to use it more often. I like to shoot and good things have been happening. I need to keep doing it.”
Bickell is one of the so-called secondary scorers the Hawks need to help pick up the slack offensively with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa out of the lineup with injuries.
After a strong start to the season Bickell's play tailed off to the point where he was a healthy scratch for three games in late October and early November.
“I needed to play with more urgency,” Bickell said. “They took me out of the lineup a couple times, and I knew the reason so I fixed that.”
Now Bickell is playing on a line with Dave Bolland and Troy Brouwer with the trio contributing 2 goals and 3 assists in Wednesday's 5-3 win over Dallas.
OK, go ahead and call it the “Killer B” line.
“That's what they called us going back to the Norfolk days when Mike Haviland was head coach and we had Byfuglien, Bolland, myself and a few other prospects. There was about 10 of us and they had a big banner and everything. You can name us whatever. It's all good.”
The Bolland line was probably the Hawks' best against the Stars.
“Playing with Bolland and Brouwer, we're getting a lot of minutes with guys out and we have a lot of defensive responsibility as well, which I like,” Bickell said. “It's fun playing with those guys. We shut down the top lines and we get a lot of offense because the other team is used to offense and they don't want to backcheck.”
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville is looking for consistency with his lines while Kane and Hossa sit, and he may have found one he can ride for a while with Bolland, Bickell and Brouwer.
Bolland assisted on goals by Bickell and Brouwer in the win over Dallas and now has 4 points in the last two games.
“I thought they protected the puck well and made some nice plays on the goals,” Quenneville said. “For Bicks, that's two games in a row with a big shot early on to get us the lead and get everybody going.
“They've been pretty responsible as they've been together here and it's nice to see them produce as well. That's quality ice when they're out there against the other team's best players and if they can outscore them generally you have a good chance of winning.”