Richardson demonstrated box-out battle drills and got back to pushing and shoving himself in practice just days short of his 55th birthday.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson turns 55 on March 26, but helped demonstrate box-out battle drills himself in practice in Irvine, California on Wednesday.
Rebuilding Chicago was manhandled by the bigger, faster Kings in a 6-2 loss in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. L.A. dominated the crease, slot and middle "dirty" areas of the ice most of the night.
To build better determination and address some techniques, Richardson made banging, pushing and establishing position a priority before the Blackhawks meet the Ducks in Anaheim on Thursday. Veterans like Nick Foligno and Seth Jones were dishing out big bumps with younger players at either end of the ice.
Foligno and rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski had a spirited tussle.
"We needed our veteran guys to show a little bit of oomph today in practice," Richardson said. See video.
Richardson, a rugged NHL defenseman for 21 seasons, got involved too. The fitness-focused coach was grinning afterward.
"Yeah, it's fun,"he said. "I just gotta' make sure I don't take a helmet in the face and get the nose that's fixed and the teeth that are fixed broken again." See video.
Blackhawks Meet Ducks Without Blackwell
The Blackhawks will go for a 3-0 season series sweep of the Ducks on Thursday. Chicago has 1-0 and 7-2 wins over Anaheim this season and is 9-1-1 in its last 11 games against the Ducks.
Rookie Connor Bedard had a goal and four assists in a 7-2 win over Anaheim last week.Forward Colin Blackwell, who left Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury, won't play on Thursday. He was hurt in a collision with the Kings Kevin Fiala when he sustained a blow to the chest.
Richardson had no update on the stocky, high-energy forward whom he called a "tough dude." Blackwell has given Chicago a boost since his return in December from sports hernia surgery in March 2023 and a difficult recovery.