Considering the way everything has seemingly gone against them the past few weeks, the Blackhawks easily could’ve folded Friday against the Maple Leafs.
But halfway through the second period, the scrappy resilience that the Hawks wanted to be their signature trait under coach Luke Richardson during this rebuild — a trait that had been harder than usual to identify in their play recently — suddenly reemerged.
The Hawks used a determined effort to rally from a two-goal deficit and earn a 4-3 overtime win in one of the most eventful, entertaining games of the season. It was the opposite of folding.
Coach Luke Richardson correctly noted it was just one game — one game that neither makes up for the five consecutive losses that preceded it nor revives Taylor Hall nor clarifies the Corey Perry confusion. Many, many more losses inevitably lie ahead this season.
But it was one game from which the Hawks can derive some much-needed encouragement and happiness.
“We needed this tonight, and we really dug down and got it,” Richardson said, smiling.
There was no heartfelt meeting or impassioned speech that prompted this out-of-nowhere surge. There has been enough talk lately, after all. There was, however, a concerted effort to get back to that aforementioned hard-working identity.
“I don’t think it came down to words,” forward Jason Dickinson said. “I think it came down to just looking at ourselves and saying, ‘We’re in this. Let’s go out and do it. [Let’s] just put our heart on our sleeve and show what we’ve got.’”
The two teams combined for 16 shot attempts during the chaotic overtime, giving every member of the season-high sellout crowd of 20,238 a natural adrenaline pill.
Toronto’s William Nylander nearly ruined the party when he rang both posts and the crossbar on a breakaway, but Hawks rookie Kevin Korchinski ignited the United Center by jamming in a loose puck with 30 seconds left after it bounced over the top of the net.
“[We worked on] channeling our emotions in a positive way,” Korchinski said. “Whether there’s a bad bounce [that] they score on, or they’re up on us early, we can’t just get down on ourselves. We’ve got to get those positive vibes going.”
Korchinski’s first real highlight-reel moment in the NHL, star forward Connor Bedard’s team-high six shots on goal and four takeaways and young goalie Arvid Soderblom’s much-needed victorious start are all good signs for the Hawks’ future. Their young core’s swagger evidently hasn’t been eroded by this week’s hefty dose of adversity.
Nonetheless, it was Dickinson — the easily overlooked, 28-year-old journeyman center — who stood out most, recording his first hat trick in 379 NHL appearances.
Dickinson beat struggling Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov with a short-side shot in the first period, squeezed another puck through Samsonov in tight in the second period and then sniped the top corner 15 seconds into the third period before catching one of the hats that rained down.
Even beyond the goals, his performance was dominant. The Hawks held a 9-1 advantage in scoring chances during his five-on-five ice time. During the waning minutes of regulation, he won several battles in the defensive zone to help the Hawks get the puck out and change lines. In overtime, he beat Auston Matthews on the crucial opening faceoff.
Without Hall and Perry, the Hawks desperately needed another veteran to step up and fill those voids — and Dickinson delivered. He has always been an underrated defensive forward and wise, calm, valuable voice in the locker room, but he evolved into an on- and off-ice leader Friday.
“There’s been a lot of emotions going around with a lot going on,” he said. “A positive win at home, hard-fought, doing the right things — all of that leads into a really good feeling in this locker room to head forward.”