DALLAS — For a good five minutes after practice Wednesday, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson and forward Lukas Reichel stood by the boards, talking and gesturing throughout a deep conversation.
Richardson and Reichel have had quite a few such conversations over the last year, and they’ve rarely been positive. This time, however, it was positive — because Reichel’s recent play justified it.
“He’s trying to shoot pucks more, and he’s not cheating on the offensive side,” Richardson said. “He’s playing hard in the stick battles. He’s showing he wants to stay in the lineup.
“[I was] just saying he’s doing good things. Same as when someone’s struggling and…you try to talk to them and bring them back, you want to make sure you talk to them when they do something well.”
Reichel translated those affirmations into another solid performance Friday against the Predators, and Richardson rewarded him by promoting him to first-line left wing Saturday against the Stars.
Suddenly, Reichel has gone from playing with Craig Smith and Pat Maroon to playing with Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen. His healthy scratches on the opening road trip feel like ancient history, even though he didn’t do much Saturday and ended up logging only 12:33 of ice time.
Friday, however, featured one of his best plays to date at the NHL level. He set up Smith’s opening goal by slicing between two Predators and curling around a third to open a lane for the centering pass.
That sequence demonstrated his elite skating ability in the perfect way: He didn’t burn calories blazing around the rink without a purpose but utilized his best skill to break down a defense. And he followed up that moment with several more threatening offensive plays and responsible defensive recoveries.
“[I’m building] the killer instinct to want the puck and be selfish out there because it makes everyone else better,” Reichel said. “I’m still passing when it’s a two-on-zero, probably. But they said I’ve got to be more selfish, and that’s what I try to do.”
Despite his quietness Saturday, he still touts three points in his last four games. By comparison, he recorded three points in a four-game span just twice last season across 65 total appearances.
But a four-game sample is small, and that’s especially relevant in this case because consistency has historically eluded Reichel. He has shown occasional flashes at the NHL level, but those flashes have never extended into confidence-building, identity-establishing, long-term momentum.
Can he do it this time? He believes so. He believes it because he has found and adopted a mental approach that works for him.
“I’m not going into the game saying, ‘I’m going to score two tonight,’ ” he said. “I’m going into the game trying to do two or three things right, or as much as I can. That’s when you get your chances and you create that confidence.”
Hawks skills coach Brian Keane has spent a lot of one-on-one time with him, analyzing specifics such as ways he can create more space with skating and puck-control subtleties. That work has not only improved his overall play but also has given him many potential little things to focus on within that aforementioned mentality.
“I’ve noticed, like, when the puck goes away from him, he’s on his toes and he’s backchecking,” Richardson said. “You [used to] see disappointment in his body language, and [now you’re] seeing his body language is very good. He reacts really well without the puck.”
The Hawks’ overall improvement — despite their subpar 2-6-1 record — seems to be benefitting Reichel, as well.
They’re collectively spending more time with the puck and less time swamped in their defensive zone. Considering he isn’t — and probably never will be — anything close to a defensive specialist, that plays more to his strengths.
“When you have the puck more, it’s easier for me to create something,” Reichel said. “Last year was just not like that.”