Chicago coach Luke Richardson, who turned 55 on Tuesday, sent assertive on-ice message as he did as a rugged defenseman. Slow starts have to stop. Veterans Seth Jones, Nick Foligno concur.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson concluded Monday's practice with a mix of good old-fashioned, thigh-burning sideboards and line sprints with hard stops. A "bag skate" finish.
For the most part, the Blackhawks played poorly on a three-game trip to California. They were ripped at Los Angeles 6-2 and blanked at Anaheim 4-0.
It hit the fan late in the first period at San Jose on Saturday, as Chicago was being outskated by the Sharks, the only team lower in the standings.
The normally calm Richardson was furious and didn't mince words with his players. The Blackhawks eventually came back to win 5-4 in overtime on Seth Jones' second goal of the game.
That didn't redeem the Blackhawks players. Richardson reinforced his message on the ice Monday. Veteran Blackhawks skaters said didn't mind and were trying to amplify it.
"I think I understand the big picture and what the coaches are trying to do here and what the coaches are trying to instill in our team and our culture," Jones said. "That's to play 60 hard minutes every night.
"It wasn't just that game. It's really kind of been all season where we will start slow against teams and try to crawl back of the game. Most of the time, it's not enough." See video.
"I think it's good for us," said forward and de facto captain Nick Foligno. " I think it's good for us. Obviously you don't want to have bag skates before games all the time, but I thinks it was a message sent that our start wasn't good enough,
"We got away luckily with a win, whereas with some other teams you're probably not getting away with that same result. It's just snapping back in to the mindset we need to have." See video.
When they meet the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, the Blackhawks will have a something of a checklist of things to accomplish early. That includes getting pucks deep in the Flames' zone, getting pucks to the net, being physical – and at least 10 hits and 10 shots on goal in the opening period.
That might be the first part of a birthday gift for Richardson, who turned 55.
Calgary entered having lost three straight and six of eight. The Flames scored just 10 goals in the six losses.
Although not numerically eliminated like the Blackhawks, the Flames are on course to miss the playoffs. They're 14 points out of a Western Conference wild card spot with 12 games remaining.