Jones scores twice, Stalock notches shutout as Blackhawks smash Sens
Memo to the remaining teams on the Blackhawks' schedule: Take this ragtag bunch for granted at your own risk.
"We're gonna work hard (and) try to win some games here. We have a lot of guys that have something to prove," defenseman Seth Jones said Monday morning. "A lot of young guys want to show their worth for the future (and) show they belong here."
Nine hours later, the Ottawa Senators found that out the hard way, with Jones scoring 2 goals and Philip Kurashev, Jason Dickinson and Lukas Reichel also converting en route to a 5-0 Hawks victory. Alex Stalock was tremendous in net, turning away 35 shots - 27 of which came in the first two periods.
Jones almost had a hat trick, but he failed to tap in a perfect pass from Andreas Athanasiou with 9:47 remaining.
"Just missed it," said Jones, who now has 10 goals on the season and 9 in his last 27 games. "Yeah, I wanted that shot."
Said coach Luke Richardson: "He's worked on his game the second half of the year so much and he's been excellent."
Kurashev gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead at 16:22 of the first period with a beautiful move in the offensive zone.
After toe-dragging around a sliding Jake Sanderson, Kurashev ripped a shot that bounced off goalie Mads Sogaard's glove and into the net.
Jones then made it 2-0 and 3-0 by scoring twice in just under 3½ minutes early in the second period, and Dickinson made it 4-0 five minutes later. New forward Anders Bjork notched the primary assist on all 3 tallies.
The Hawks (22-36-5) snapped their four-game losing streak, while Ottawa (32-27-4) saw its five-game winning streak end.
Toews update:
Jonathan Toews is back. Well, OK, not on the ice and playing in games.
But the Blackhawks' captain is around his teammates again, working out and trying to get back into shape so he can suit up again before the season ends on April 13.
Toews, who has not played since January 28, released a statement on February 19 saying he is dealing with symptoms from long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome.
There is no timetable for a possible return.
"I talked to him a little. ... He said he was glad to be back and (to be) with the guys and feelin' a little better," coach Luke Richardson said before the Hawks hosted Ottawa at the United Center on Monday. "I just (leave) it up to the trainers at this point, and when he's getting close to being on the ice, I'll have a little more of a talk with him. ...
"He just needs to take this time to himself, so I'll let the medical staff deal with that."