ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Chicago Blackhawks tried moving Lukas Reichel back to wing.
They tried putting him on the top line with Connor Bedard.
They’ve tried a lot of different things to get Reichel going and back to where he was at the end of last season.
But nothing has clicked for the 21-year-old Reichel, who the Blackhawks envisioned taking the next step in his development this season. Through 22 games, Reichel has often been more invisible than noticeable. His five-on-five stats speak volumes as he has zero goals and three assists, none primary. The Blackhawks have been outscored 17-3 with him on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Overall, he has two goals and four assists on the season. It’s far from what the Blackhawks expected this year.
Advertisement
Beyond the production, the Blackhawks just haven’t seen much of the speed and creativity that elevated Reichel late season and made him arguably the team’s best player during a period where most of the talent had been traded off. He had four goals and four assists in his final eight games last season.
With Reichel coming off a game in which he was mostly invisible and noticeable for the wrong reasons on Saturday, the Blackhawks felt like they had no options and decided to make Reichel a healthy scratch against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. It’s the first time he’s been scratched this season.
“I’m sure he’s disappointed, but we need more from him,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said before Sunday’s game. “Sometimes a little extra push like this gets a player going.”
Reichel had very little of the puck Saturday. When he did, he was unable to keep it. Here are two plays from Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets where Reichel would normally be able to capitalize on the open ice and make something happen, but failed to.
The coaching staff and management had been searching for anything to spark Reichel in recent weeks. They had given him a look with Bedard, which many fans had been asking for all season, but it was short-lived as the line didn’t produce much. And after Anthony Beauvillier was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks, Beauvillier was immediately promoted to the top line and replaced Reichel on the top power-play unit in Saturday’s game.
Because Beauvillier still can’t join the Blackhawks in the United States due to his visa, the Blackhawks were going to have to promote someone to the top line and to the first power-play unit on Sunday. It could have been Reichel. Instead, he’ll be watching from the press box.
Advertisement
“We mentioned this should be him when there’s an opportunity like Beauvillier not available tonight,” Richardson said. “It should be him that has that opportunity tonight, so we’re disappointed as well. Hopefully that will give him a little extra boost to get his legs going, a little desperation in his game.”
The reason behind Reichel’s decline has baffled the Blackhawks most of the season. He was tapping into his speed, making highlight plays and playing with a ton of confidence in training camp. As the season began, those attributes began to slowly disappear.
Reichel had been playing with Andreas Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev for much of camp, but that line was broken up when Athanasiou fell ill and Kurashev was promoted to the top line. Athanasiou is currently out with an injury.
Reichel’s linemates can’t be the lone explanation, though. He has an expected goals percentage of 42.54, which is ninth among the team’s forwards.
There have still been glimpses of Reichel’s ability this season. He’s had plays where he’s shown his speed and offensive skill, but lacked the finish. As of late, those moments seem further between.
“I think when he plays with confidence, he seems to have excellent bursts of speed, which we know that he has, and it’s always used in the right direction,” Richardson said. “Now I think he’s thinking a little bit instead of reacting and chasing the game and we don’t see him very much in the game. He needs to kind of watch from above tonight and then come back with a little bit of fire, but also regrouping mentally, so physically he could do his best out there.”
Blackhawks management didn’t consider sending him to Rockford again. They think of him as a full-time NHL player and don’t think another stint in the AHL would be beneficial.
The Blackhawks also aren’t in panic mode yet about Reichel’s development. They have seen what he can do in the AHL and NHL. If Reichel doesn’t rediscover his game at some point this season, then they will have to be concerned about it. But they’re hoping Sunday’s healthy scratch will refocus him.
Advertisement
“Some players, their confidence gets down for whatever reason and they just get off of playing from makes them good players,” Richardson said. “Sometimes you just have to take a step back and look and think about it and regroup and come back better and harder.”
(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGpncWpobnxzfJFsZmpqX2WAcLjUpJisZaKatqS0xKVkm6SRmLiprdakqmaglZa5tbTYZqqcqpGpsKl7