For the first time in his NHL career, Blackhawks defenseman Nathan Dempsey is getting a chance to play night after night, and he’s making the most of it.
Dempsey played in his 16th straight game Wednesday in the Hawks’ 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers, and it was his most prolific scoring night.
Dempsey assisted on all four Hawks goals and was a plus-4 for the evening.
“Not in this league,” Dempsey said when asked if he ever had a night like Wednesday. “This league is a little better.”
Dempsey is seventh on the Hawks in scoring with 10 points on a goal and nine assists.
Dempsey has played more than 20 minutes in each of the last two games and has been used in every situation–even strength, power play and short-handed.
Confidence “is a huge part of this game,” he said. “Confidence is something that comes game after game. I’m playing in a lot of situations, so it definitely helps.”
Dempsey has played in 20 of the Hawks’ 29 games this season. His career high for games in a season is 25 for Toronto in 2000-01.
During the Hawks’ three-game winning streak, Dempsey has been paired with Phil Housley, who is the Hawks’ third-leading scorer with 17 points.
Hawks coach Brian Sutter will have a decision to make–perhaps as early as Friday–which defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev will replace when he is ready to return to the lineup after a breaking his foot.
One thing that may keep Dempsey in the lineup is his ability to play the wing.
Shooting gallery
Jocelyn Thibault had a season-high 46 saves Wednesday in earning the victory over the Rangers. Although he probably wouldn’t want to be that busy, Thibault said it’s one way to get into the game quickly.
“They had a lot of shots, but I don’t mind that,” Thibault said. “I got into a rhythm and that’s how you want to feel.”
Thibault also likes playing against the Rangers–a team he’s beaten six straight times–and playing in Madison Square Garden.
“The defensive zone is a little smaller and the Rangers shoot a lot of pucks,” Thibault said. “It’s easy to get in the game early. It’s a great building to play in.”
Thibault is still among the league leaders in goalie statistics. His 2.03 goals-against is third in the league. He’s tied for seventh among goalies who have played more than 10 games in save percentage at .924. He has all of the Hawks’ 14 wins, which is third in the league, and his four shutouts is second only to Toronto’s Ed Belfour’s five.
The 49 shots the Hawks allowed were a season high, but Sutter didn’t seem too concerned about it.
“Who cares about the shots?” Sutter said. “We care about the final score.”
Offense lagging pack
Since Theo Fleury returned to the lineup the Hawks have scored at least three goals in each of the four games, but the Hawks are still 25th in the league with 69 goals.
The Hawks are just one of five teams with no player in double figures in goals. Steve Sullivan leads the team with nine. Also lacking a double-figure goal scorer are Buffalo, Calgary, New Jersey and the Islanders.
Although the power play has shown glimpses of improvement since Fleury arrived, it’s 0-for-10 in the last four games and is now last in the NHL at 10.7 percent.
