Chicago's players enjoyed skating, banging in confined spaces on Thursday as they prepared for a rematch against the unbeaten Golden Knights in Las Vegas.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson delivered on his promise of battle drills for his struggling team in practice Thursday.
Chicago's players, including rookie Connor Bedard, loved it. Lots of pushing, shoving and banging while skating with the puck in confined spaces.
Above all, there was a plenty of energy before the Blackhawks headed to their chartered flight to Las Vegas and a rematch with the undefeated Golden Knights on Friday afternoon. Chicago, at 2-5-0 and on a three-game losing streak, will play its fifth game in eight so far against an opponent that has not yet lost.
See Bedard in the practice in the following video.
"That was pretty similar to practices when I came in the league," said Nick Foligno, who broke into the NHL with Ottawa in 2007. "That was a normal practice and good to get back to.
'It's just knowing how to push against guys and how hard it is to get into those dirty areas and score goals, or take guys out of those areas so they can't score goals.
Veteran Nick Foligno (17) will try to lead the Blackhawks into dirty areas against the Golden Knights."I like those kinds of practices," Foligno added. "They're important for our mindset for our club, especially as we're trying to find our way."
Bedard liked it too. Set to skate on line with Foligno, Kurashev.
Foligno, who turns 36 next week, is pencilled in to play left wing on a line centered by Bedard on Friday. Philipp Kurashev is on the right side. He'll skate in a second game after returning from a wrist injury he suffered in the preseason.
See Bedard tussle with fellow rookie, defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, in the following video.
"It was the best practice, I thought," Bedard said. "It was a lot of fun. We're competing but we're having fun. That's like a game. You gotta' battle, you gotta' battle hard, so it's good we got that in today." See the following video.
The practice met Richardson's expectations, too. He gave his players day off on Wednesday following a 3-0 loss to Boston at the United Center.
"The compete level was high and the guys enjoyed it," Richardson said. "They were cheering each other on and razzing each other and that's just like a game. That's what we wanted to try and emulate today."
Richardson clearly, but calmly, voiced his displeasure with his team's performance after its third straight loss on Tuesday. Boston improved to 6-0-0 by taking charge and outshooting Chicago 43-23.
"Today we expected a high compete, high-level skating practice and we got it," he said. "I think the guys liked it and appreciated that day off. And hopefully they'll use that energy level tomorrow because we’re going to need it."
Vegas is the first team in NHL history to begin the defense of a Stanley Cup with a seven-game winning streak. The Golden Knights beat the Blackhawks 5-3 in Chicago's home opener last Saturday, pulling away in the third period.