Something that’s been talked about a great deal in the past few days has been the Blackhawks still searching for an identity as a team. Usually, it’s the top of the lineup that sets the tone for a hockey team. But recently, that model has been inverted in Chicago.
In the Blackhawks’ loss on Sunday afternoon, the most impactful line they put on the ice was the fourth line of Reese Johnson, Ryan Donato and Boris Katchouk. Donato and Katchouk scored both of Chicago’s goals in the game, they had the best chances on the team and brought energy on every shift.
After the game, head coach Luke Richardson was comp🍰limentary of their performance as a group.
“They put pucks in deep and they track hard. Just simply,” Richardson said on Sunday. “They put pucks to the net and they get a tip-goal and made a nice play at the end to give us a chance to pull the goalie. Reeser’s physical, Bo has played much more physical since he’s been back in and Ryan Donato’s shown around the net he’s got that feistiness with a tip tonight or scoring goals in or around the blue paint, so that’s just determination. Hopefully that can rub off on other players that have maybe more opportunity in certain situations, then they have to make more of it like that line does.”
Richardson noted the line has been good for a while, and has talked about their energy and compete more than just on Sunday. With a day off between a disappointing loss and the next game, the fourth line is hoping to help set the tone again on Tuesday night when a struggl♔ing Seattle Kraken team invades the United Center.
The coach doubled d♓own on his assessment of their performance after the morning skate on T🦩uesday.
“I liked it even more in the video this morning. We showed some of the good things from last game. That’s defensively and offensively. [It] really doesn’t matter where you’re charted on the so-called depth chart, it depends on how you play that night. You should get rewarded with a little more time and opportunity. Hopefully they continue that and it festers through the group in a good way.”
Part of their success is doing what the coaches have asked: they know who they are, what they can do on the ice, and play their rꦿole hard. Reese Johnson is aware that their line can bring that infectio🃏us energy to the bench and ice. And their comfort level as a line has been increasing as they play together more frequently.
“First and foremost it’s just playing to our identity and playing simple,” Reese said on Tuesday. “I heard [Donato] talk about it after last game. It’s just keeping it simple and honestly getting pucks deep, going to work, playing together as a unit. I think that’s very important. I do think we’re building chemistry and I think we can take more strides and keep building off that.”
According to Reese, communication has been key for them as a unity. He said they talked to each other more against the Blues on Sunday than they had even before. That familiarity with each other has helped them do their jobs effectively — which, Reese knows, helps others on the roster be put in positions to succeed as well. Which helps the team win.
“It’s important for us to bring energy and that comes from keeping it simple, having offensive zone shifts, finishing our shifts in the O-zone and allowing other lines to come out and have those offensive zone chances,” Reese said.
When asked to define the identity of his team on Sunday night, Richardson pointed to how hard the Blackhawks were to play against down the stretch last year. They weren’t winning games, but they were making life hard on their opponents every night. And he wants this year’s team to get back to that effort and work ethic.
What we’ve seen from the fourth line recently shows that they’re getting the message from their head coach. And as the Blackhawks continue trying to establish their collective identity, it might be the bottom of the lineup that leads the way forward.
