Stalock strong again, but Hawks wilt down the stretch
When Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson made the decision to conduct an all-out rebuild, one of the first decisions he made was to part ways with goaltenders Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia.
Davidson replaced them with Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock, a pair of veterans with two very different resumes.
The 30-year-old Mrazek, who broke into the league in 2014-15 with the Red Wings, has five campaigns of at least 33 starts and has now appeared in 325 games.
Meanwhile, Stalock, 35, was drafted in 2005 and has mostly been an NHL backup or in the AHL. He also missed most of the 2021-22 season with a COVID-related heart condition, and sat out six weeks this season while dealing with oculomotor dysfunction.
While Mrazek was expected to be the Hawks' No. 1 goalie, it's actually Stalock who has stood out. He boasts a shiny .920 save percentage and 2.76 goals-against average, numbers that would rank fifth and 22nd, respectively, out of 62 guys if he had enough appearances to qualify.
Stalock registered his second shutout by stopping 35 shots in a 5-0 victory over Ottawa on Monday, then shined again at Detroit on Wednesday, turning away 35 of the first 37 attempts he faced.
The Hawks were in position to win, going up 3-2 on Joey Anderson's goal at 6:10 of the third period, but Lucas Raymond tied things up at 12:35, and former Hawks forward Dominik Kubalik ripped home his 18th goal with 4:07 remaining as the Red Wings snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory.
Taylor Raddysh (15, 16) gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals late in the first period. The first came off a nice cross-ice feed from Lukas Reichel on the power play.
As for Stalock, his stellar play this season begs the question: Why didn't the St. Paul, Minnesota, native ever turn into a No. 1 netminder?
"Obviously the most games I played was (38) in Minnesota," Stalock said Tuesday, referring to the 2019-20 campaign in which he went 20-11-4 with a 2.67 goals-against average. "Kind of proved that I could play those games.
"But, yeah, you look back and you wish maybe you got a chance to run with a job here or there. It's just the way it works sometimes. It is what it is. Show up and compete, and the games you get it's an honor to get in there.
"I think guys just get pigeonholed. Size is a big thing nowadays."
Indeed. You don't see many 5-foot-11, 170-pound goalies patrolling the net on a nightly basis.
But wait. Does Stalock really weigh only 170?
"I don't know why (my profile) says 170," said Stalock, who then found a Hawks PR person and added: "Where can we fix that 170? Everybody asks me about that. Can we put 195? ... That's like the 10th time I've been asked this year.
"That's exactly why I haven't been able to play in many games - because all my stats are wrong! I'm actually 6-4 too!"
That exchange, which took place after practice at Fifth Third Arena, was all in good fun. And that's what Stalock is all about.
Teammates love his sense of humor and how he keeps things light, even when times are tough.
"Every time he comes in, he brings so much energy for our team," said defenseman Seth Jones. "He's vocal whether it's on the ice or between periods in here in the dressing room. Just a fun guy to play in front of."
Stalock made 2 huge saves in the first period. The first came four minutes in when he somehow got his big mitt in the way of a shot from Filip Zadina while lying on his belly. The other came with 42 seconds left when he denied Dylan Larkin on a penalty shot.
The Hawks were outshot 41-20, including 19-3 in the second period.
"We really didn't help out Stalock tonight," Raddysh told reporters. "He gave us a chance to be in the game right to the end, and unfortunately we didn't (come) through."