Slater Koekkoek has grown accustomed to the lifestyle of a healthy scratch. He was regularly the odd man out with the Lightning, and he’s been scratched in five of the Blackhawks’ first seven games this season, too.
Now that Connor Murphy will be out for a minimum 24 days with a re-aggravated groin injury, though, Koekkoek will likely be called on Thursday against the Flyers.
“It’s a mental game,” the blueliner said Wednesday. “Some guys get too low when they’re out of the lineup, or some guys don’t care. It’s about keeping that balance of being ready whenever you get the chance and keeping a positive mindset.”
Koekkoek hasn’t played since the first two games, when the Hawks were waiting for Calvin de Haan to return to full health.
Now, de Haan is healthy — and coming off a season-high 21:05 of ice time Tuesday against the Golden Knights, indicating he’ll be expected to step into a key role moving forward — yet Murphy is out.
“[Koekkoek] plays a simple game, not afraid to get into battles and be physical,” Colliton said. “He’s a good skater, tight gap. All the things we ask of everyone, he’s capable of doing that too, and I think he will.”
The Hawks placed Murphy on long-term injured reserve Thursday, which means he won’t be eligible for roster reinstatement until Nov. 16.
That’s even longer than the initial two-week timeline given by Jeremy Colliton after the loss to Vegas.
“[Murphy has] been really good for us,” Olli Maatta said. “But obviously, we have a good D here. Everybody’s just got to step up, [especially] whoever runs with those extra minutes. That’s the way it is.”
The Hawks also recalled Dennis Gilbert from the AHL, where he’d played three games since appearing in the season opener in Prague. Gilbert, 22, impressed in training camp and has earned an extended stay at the NHL level.
The bigger issues will be, firstly, who to slot alongside Duncan Keith on the top pair, and secondly, how to address having just one healthy right-handed defenseman (Brent Seabrook) at the moment.
Calvin de Haan played more with Keith in the third period Tuesday than anyone else. It’s unwise to read too much into that, given the team wasn’t able to run regular pairs whatsoever, but de Haan is the natural leading candidate considering his Murphy-like defensive reliability and the Hawks’ reluctance to split up the Maatta-Seabrook duo.
If de Haan moves up, either he or Keith will need to switch to the right side, joining Seabrook and Erik Gustafsson (who prefers the right). Colliton said it might be a trial-by-fire experience for the unlucky guy.
“The reads can be a little different, your puck plays are a little different, you’ve got a different look,” the coach said. “The more you’re in those situations, the more comfortable you feel.”
Maatta said Wednesday that the defense overall is “finally starting to get some chemistry,” and they’ve shown that on the ice, despite the lack of wins to show for it. Vegas was credited with only five high-danger scoring chances Tuesday, tied for the fewest the Hawks have allowed in the past three seasons.
Koekkoek is hoping his insertion won’t disrupt that momentum.
“It’s about doing something that first shift, whether you’re talking in your head (going), ‘All right, here we go, Slater. Get your feet going,’” he said. “It’s a little bit of talk, a little bit of physicality. Whatever it takes.”
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