Chicago Blackhawks' Wingels has history of hot streaks
Believe it or not, Tommy Wingels is no stranger to a hot streak.
Chicago Blackhawks fans who have followed Wingels' season might think his 3-goals-in-eight-game run is out of the ordinary, but it's not.
When he was with the San Jose Sharks, Wingels scored nine times in the first 29 games of the 2013-14 campaign, and he even pumped in 4 goals in a five-game stretch the next season.
Wingels' role on the Hawks, though, isn't primarily to beat the opposing goalie. He was signed in the off-season to provide a physical presence, and he certainly has done that with linemates Lance Bouma and John Hayden. Before Tuesday's game against Florida, those three combined for 225 of the Hawks' 575 hits.
Wingels' last 2 goals came in the third period against Arizona on Sunday to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead, and short-handed with 3:22 left against Buffalo on Friday to tie the game at 2-2.
"There's so many different ways of being successful," said Wingels, who scored 31 times for the Sharks from 2013-15. "Everybody wants to score goals and score as many as they can, so to be able to celebrate that is great.
"I know you guys are going to laugh about it, but we're just happy at getting the wins here recently. And I truly mean that. We're back on the right track."
Part of the reason is because of Wingels' line, which coach Joel Quenneville has trusted all season in myriad circumstances.
"You want to be in the high-stress situations," Wingels said. "After goals. Last minutes of periods. The shifts after a power play or penalty kill.
"He's been showing a lot of trust in us throughout the season and as a line we need to continue to reward him for putting us out there."
Panik sits:
Richard Panik was a healthy scratch for the first time since April 3, 2016, when the Hawks hosted Florida on Tuesday. Ryan Hartman, who sat the previous two games, drew back in and skated on the third line with Vinnie Hinostroza and Patrick Sharp.
Panik is mired in a 21-game goal-scoring drought and recently went through a five-game stretch where he put just 1 shot on goal.
"With him consistency's always been (an issue)," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Last year he put a real nice stretch together and got his production up. He was a guy that deserved quality minutes and gave us more than just scoring. …
"But if you're a goal scorer, everybody's going to have droughts. I'd put him in a category of (being) not just a goal scorer, but he's got to have other parts of his game complement our team game."
Injury update:
Defenseman Cody Franson sat out a second straight game Tuesday with an upper-body injury and remains day to day. Jordan Oesterle played again in Franson's absence.
Rockford IceHogs D-man Erik Gustafsson, who has missed three weeks with a shoulder injury, is expected to miss about two more weeks.