Hawks to give Reichel extended look after impressive weekend originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
When Patrick Kane went down with a lower-body injury, it was a no-brainer for the Blackhawks to call up Lukas Reichel to help fill the void. It was a perfect opportunity for him to play a top-line role and be the go-to guy on offense.
After a quiet first 12 games in the NHL, Reichel looked like a different player this weekend. Chicago’s management group felt he had his best NHL showing in Friday’s 2-0 win over Arizona despite having nothing to show for it, and he followed that up with an even stronger performance against a better opponent on Sunday, only this time it reflected on the scoresheet.
Reichel scored his first career NHL goal and added two primary assists against the Calgary Flames, the second of which came on the game-winning goal in overtime by Max Domi. He also had a team-high five shots on goal. To be honest, Reichel could’ve had at least another one or two more points.
I asked Reichel after the game whether he thought he’s made it difficult on the front office to send him back to Rockford. He laughed, then replied: “I don’t want to get in trouble, but yeah, I felt good and I’m always happy to play here and I hope I stay here.”
The Blackhawks don’t play again until Thursday, and Kane appears to be on track to return for that game. Even if he does come back, it sounds like the Blackhawks are going to keep Reichel around for the time being.
Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson hadn’t spoken with GM Kyle Davidson following the 4-3 overtime win over Calgary, but Reichel will likely have some rope to show the organization he can play at a high level consistently in the NHL. He’s deserved the opportunity.
“I think the idea of bringing him up now is probably he earned a spot,” Richardson said. “It’s not just a flash, coming up for a game or two. I think it’s just to give him an extended time to see if he can sustain what he’s doing right now. I’m sure he’s driven to do that.
“We haven’t really talked about it. We’ve got a few days now. We have tomorrow off and we got a couple days of good practice and we can show some video and all the good things we’ve done over the last few games and he’s part of that, so we expect him to be here.”
Click here to subscribe to the Blackhawks Talk Podcast for free.
Download
Download MyTeams Today!
