Wednesday night at the United Center might just go down as the Thanksgiving Eve Miracle — or at least it should.
The Hawks will have plenty of positives from their 6-2 win over the Dallas Stars for which to express gratitude over helpings of turkey and stuffing on Thursday.
Connor Bedard is likely thankful for snapping a 12-game goal drought.
Coach Luke Richardson is probably thankful for a season-high six goals and a four-goal margin of victory, the Hawks’ largest of the season.
Louis Crevier, the young defenseman, should thank Ilya Mikheyev for setting up his first career goal.
Taylor Hall should be the most thankful of all, as he boasted one of the biggest performances in recent memory in front of 19,144 fans: a fifth career hat trick. His mile-wide smile as fans threw hats from the stands seemed to say as much.
“I was at two goals, and I’m like, ‘Man, this would be awesome to score on home ice,’” Hall said. “I wish I had my family here. I had no one here tonight.
“It was cool. I scored a hat trick against the Hawks, and now I’ve scored one for them. So not a lot of guys in the league can say that.”
Hall posted his second career hat trick for the Edmonton Oilers during a 9-2 win against the Hawks at Rexall Place on Nov. 19, 2011.
He was a 20-year-old emerging star back then. Now 33, he’s in a different stage of his career, as he often likes to say.
“I’m pretty happy about it,” he said about Wednesday’s hat trick. “More than anything, (it’s) a big win for our team and a lot of guys seeing their name on a score sheet. Petr (Mrázek) getting a win, he deserves that, and hopefully we can keep rolling.”
Hall’s most recent hat trick came against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 5, 2013, when he was an Oiler.
Hall scored the first two goals in the first period of that game — just like he did Wednesday night.
“It’s been a long time. You know, you don’t come into games expecting to score hat tricks, but I’ve been working pretty hard. I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve been playing and my effort,” he said.
Hall foreshadowed a special night when he beat goalie Casey DeSmith on the opening goal 17 seconds into the game, tying Kenny Wharram, Stan Mikita, Troy Murray, Jeremy Roenick and Kyle Calder for the 10th-fastest opening goal in franchise history.
“I just ripped it,” Hall said. “I’m trying to just play the game without as much thinking and thought. So I had the puck, going a lot with some pretty good speed through the neutral zone, and (I) was able to get the puck out wide in a spot where it was in a nice spot on my blade.
“I just figured I’d shoot it. It’s the first shift of the game, let’s get a shot, let’s try and see how the goalie’s feeling. And it went in.”
Five minutes and 26 seconds later, Hall batted in a Ryan Donato rebound.
Hall secured the hat trick in the second period. Pat Maroon dug the puck out of a corner battle to Craig Smith, who found Hall sitting alone on the left hash. Hall sized up his options for a moment and snapped a 21-footer past DeSmith.
“That’s awesome,” Connor Bedard said. “We were all pumped. You saw obviously with last year obviously how hard he worked to come back (from injury). I mean, he’s looked really good this year. …
“He’s a great guy, so I’m really happy for him.”
Hall’s outburst also snapped a 13-game goal drought.
And speaking of droughts, Bedard broke out of a 12-game slump with a power play goal 41 seconds into the second period.
After lifting the puck top shelf, he looked up to the rafters, his face expressing more relief than celebration.
“Kind of relief,” Bedard said. “I mean, it’s been like a month. I don’t know if I’ve had a stretch like that in my life, so felt good to see one go in.”
It was likely a weight off all the Hawks’ shoulders.
After many close losses this season, they jumped all over the Stars early and breathed a bit easier in the third period.
Teuvo Teräväinen also scored for the Hawks, and they limited Dallas to goals from ex-Hawk Colin Blackwell and Matt Duchene, who converted on one of the Stars’ four power plays.
The Hawks needed a win like that.
Hall said, “A lot of guys got on the board — Connor, myself — and you need that. As a hockey player, as an offensive guy, sometimes it’s not enough to just play well, you need to see some results from it.
“Hopefully this can kind of springboard our whole offensive game as a team.”
“We want to create some momentum here at home,” Richardson said. “The crowd was great early as usual and I thought we really responded, led by Taylor Hall right on that first goal.
“We wanted to get in our groove before they got into their groove, and I thought our players did a good job setting that example.”
Here are six takeaways.
1. Hall and Bedard make the most of the new mix.
Along with Philipp Kurashev, they’re Richardson’s latest stab at a top line.
You can’t argue with the results.
“Being put on that line. I wanted to play well and show well,” Hall said.
Bedard added, “I think we all want to make plays. We want to possess the puck. That’s the thing that gets all of us going is having the puck on our stick. Yeah, I felt like we did a pretty good job of that early. Obviously some areas where we can get better and we’ll try to do that.”
Hall admitted having a little bit more motivation, something to prove, after being a surprise scratch earlier this season.
“Maybe that was what I needed,” the veteran said. “Like, all right, that’s the worst I’m going to play, or that’s the worst I’m going to feel. So let’s figure some stuff out. Let’s change a few things in my preparation and my habits, and let’s see if I can not dwell on it, but take some constructive criticism, look myself in the mirror and try and play better.”
Richardson gave Hall as much credit for a backcheck in the crease that protected Mrázek as much as he did for the hat trick.
“That’s the professional he is,” he said. “He played a complete game. He wasn’t just happy with his three goals.”
2. Bedard seemed to be in a better place mentally.
During his slump, he seemed out of sorts, crestfallen, bearing the weight of the world.
He just needed to get off the schneid. Desperately.
“I didn’t care how one went in, to be completely honest,” Bedard said. “I would have taken it off the face. I guess however it was going in, it’s nice. It feels good.”
As Richardson likes to say, the Hawks didn’t draft Bedard for his defense.
In past games, however, the coach implored the young player to shoot more decisively, to stop looking for the just right lane.
“He didn’t waste any time. He didn’t overthink it, didn’t try to wait too long to find the perfect shot,” Richardson said. “He just turned and he shot it and he trusted his skills.”
3. It was time for Kurashev to make another comeback.
The Hawks made Kurashev a one-game healthy scratch in October after a bad game against the Buffalo Sabres.
After missing the last two Hawks games, he drew back into the lineup Wednesday and replaced Joey Anderson.
Kurashev had faded in his last three games, failing to generate a shot on goal in that stretch.
Against the Stars, he joined Bedard and Hall on the top line — with the caveat that he needs to be more aggressive.
“He was really good in practice since he’s been out in the last few days, really shooting the puck,” Richardson said before the game. “And that’s what the message was, we want him to be a little bit more engaged, going after pucks and getting them back.
“And when he has a chance to shoot it, use that shot.”
4. Long live the (Derek) King, hopefully.
Richardson took a puck to the head while standing on the bench in December 2022.
This time puck “luck” found assistant coach Derek King.
“It was his turn,” Richardson joked. “I took one two years ago.
“I had my hand up this time but I think it went up in the air. Nobody saw it and it came down. I think it went off where his glasses (meet) his eyebrows. He banged his head at home last week and had a bit of a scar, it was just going away. So I hope things don’t go in threes, because I was standing near him.
King left the game, but Richardson said afterward he was fine.
“I don’t know if he got stitches or they glued it up,” Richardson said. “But (assistant coach) Derek Plante came down real quick so we filled that role. We were good on the bench.”
4. Rolling on without Ryder Rolston.
You may remember the forward from the summer when he put a fancy deke on Craig Smith during training camp and had a few other standout moments.
The Hawks traded the 23-year-old to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday in exchange for future considerations.
Rolston, whose signing rights were acquired from Boston in April 2021, spent two seasons with the Hawks organization, He put up 11 goals and nine assists in 68 regular-season games with the Rockford IceHogs.
6. The last laugh: An extra Thanksgiving is all gravy to Richardson.
Richardson and the Hawks will spend part of Thanksgiving traveling to Minnesota for Friday’s game against the Wild.
As a native Ottawan who celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on Oct. 14 (the second Monday of October, as opposed to the fourth Thursday of November in the United States), it begs the question:
Does American Thanksgiving mean anything to you?
“Yeah, absolutely. I love turkey dinners,” he deadpanned. “So I try and celebrate both and get three in, if I can, luckily with Christmas. So it just depends on the schedule. But this year, we’ll see.”
Part of the American tradition is watching football, and Richardson let on that he likes the NFL and watches the Chicago Bears when he can.
“I thought the Bears did great” against the Minnesota Vikings, he said. “Unfortunately, (they) just came up a little short in overtime. But it’s an enjoyable game, and I wish them all the best tomorrow” against the Detroit Lions.
To Luke Richardson, a native of Canada: “Does American Thanksgiving mean anything to you?”
Richardson: “Yeah, absolutely. I love turkey dinners.” pic.twitter.com/Kb4wiXFukj
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) November 27, 2024
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