ST. PAUL, Minn. — Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev talks the way he plays: fast.
Although English isn’t his first language, fluency isn’t a major issue for the 30-year-old Russian in the right setting. Just consider his comments Monday about his chemistry with fellow forward Teuvo Teravainen:
‘‘Our line has speed, and Teuvo has brain,’’ Mikheyev said. ‘‘He shows us where we need to be, and we try to help each other.
‘‘Of course, if you play on the same line more time, you start to feel it with your partner more. It’s more easy if you play five, 10 games. It’s so much difference. We try to figure out, ‘Where is this guy?’ ’’
If anything, on-ice speed has been the bigger concern for Mikheyev. He had a reputation as one of the NHL’s fastest players in his days with the Maple Leafs, but knee surgery with the Canucks in January 2023 disrupted that.
Nearly two years later, his speed gradually is returning. He insists he felt fine even last season, but Hawks forward Jason Dickinson, who has centered Mikheyev for most of this season, understands how that surgery might have affected him.
‘‘When I have an injury that’s affecting my legs and my speed, everything else feels like it’s useless,’’ Dickinson said. ‘‘That one thing that you could always rely on isn’t there anymore, and you feel a little bit lost at times. When people are on you about, ‘Why aren’t you doing this?’ and you’re just not physically capable of it, it gets into your head that now you’re not good enough.’’
Mikheyev averaged 16.0 speed bursts of 20-plus mph (per 60 minutes) with the Maple Leafs in 2021-22, but his average dropped abruptly to 7.3 and 5.4 bursts the last two seasons with the Canucks. It has ticked up to 8.2 this season, and he has had a burst above 23 mph for the first time since 2021-22.
That resurgent speed has proved to be particularly effective in interim coach Anders Sorensen’s system, which has created more odd-man rushes.
Mikheyev’s defensive focus also is creating opportunities for him to lead counterattacks, and he’s cashing in. He recently exploded for five goals in four games after scoring only twice in his first 28 appearances with the Hawks.
He got things started for the Hawks against the Islanders, ignited their comeback against the Capitals with their first short-handed goal of the season, singlehandedly spotted them a 2-0 lead against the Kraken and pulled them within a goal in the final minutes against the Flames before failing to score Monday against the Wild.
‘‘He has been really good, right?’’ Sorensen said, stating the obvious. ‘‘A lot of it is his skating. He’s strong on the puck, and he’s willing to hang on to it in those tough areas and make those little slip plays and 10-foot plays.’’
Said Dickinson: ‘‘His offense is coming from us winning ‘D’-zone coverage. He’s got the legs to push the puck up the ice and create a forecheck [or] odd-man rush because he’s able to beat somebody.’’
Mikheyev is the 12th Hawks player since 2009 to post a four-game goal streak, joining a list that features names such as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Artemi Panarin and Alex DeBrincat, along with less predictable names such as Artem Anisimov, Bryan Bickell, Dominik Kubalik, Nick Schmaltz and Andrew Shaw. Connor Bedard hasn’t done so yet.
Mikheyev’s defensive reliability hasn’t slipped, either. In eight games under Sorensen (entering the game Monday), five Hawks forwards had five-on-five scoring-chance ratios higher than 55%: Joey Anderson, Taylor Hall, Mikheyev, Dickinson and Teravainen.
‘‘He’s like a man on the puck right now,’’ Dickinson said. ‘‘You can’t get it off of him. And when he gets a little ice, he’s using his feet [and] beating guys wide. He is just dominant right now in all facets.’’