BOSTON — Nick Foligno rarely gets to talk about a win, much less one in which he scored twice and the Chicago Blackhawks posted three goals in 93 seconds en route to a 5-2 victory.
As captain, he’s usually the one to fall on the sword by speaking with the media after the Hawks get shellacked.
“I’d like to get used to this,” Foligno said, unprompted, after the Hawks dispatched the Boston Bruins on Thursday at TD Garden.
There won’t be much “getting used to” with only three games left, but Foligno liked what he saw a lot better than the effort during Tuesday’s 5-0 loss in Pittsburgh, which inspired a players-only meeting.
“There was a more conscious effort for some guys to just dig in, respect the game,” Foligno said. “Respect how you need to play for your teammates, respect how you need to play in this league. It can humble you quickly.
“You need to go on the ice and know what each other are going to do. And when you don’t, that’s the result we got in Pittsburgh. Too many nights have been like that this year, and it was just the time to address it and hopefully put that to bed for a while.”
The Hawks’ fortunes won’t change overnight. Big changes could be in store this offseason, from coaching to the roster.
But the young players, some of whom shouldered the blame in that disaster against the Penguins, learned to play supporting roles in coming back from a 1-0 deficit Thursday.
Kevin Korchinski scored his first goal of the season. Newcomers Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore recorded their second and third assists, respectively. With his 41st assist, Connor Bedard matched his rookie season’s 61 points, which lead the team.
The kids and veterans were on the same page.
“We played a solid game,” said Arvid Söderblom, who made 28 saves to earn his first win since March 1 in Anaheim, Calif. “We were competing, and you get rewarded in games when you compete. It was fun to see.”
The Hawks were nothing special in the first period.
David Pastrnak scored the opening goal after Philipp Kurashev tripped over his skate and Elias Lindholm deflected in the puck off of Pastrnak.
Foligno answered for the Hawks in the second. He jumped on top of Fabian Lysell’s breakout pass to Mason Lohrei and was off to the races, beating Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman to the far side for his first goal since Feb. 27 in Las Vegas, snapping a 16-game drought.
Then, out of nowhere, the Hawks rattled off three goals in 1 minute, 33 seconds in the third period.
Ryan Donato was the trailer on a rush led by Rinzel and punched it in when Kurashev dished Rinzel’s rebound across the crease to him.
Sixty-nine seconds later, Tyler Bertuzzi scored from the slot. And 24 seconds after that goal, Korchinski buried a Bedard seam pass from the edge of the left circle.
“That’s huge,” Foligno said. “That’s what our team is capable of doing though. There’s skill on this team, and there’s guys that can put the puck in the net. But you’ve got to give yourself the opportunity to do it.
“Some nights it doesn’t come in bunches, it comes sporadically, and you’ve got to be smart in order to keep the lead. But today it came in that spurt and we were able to hold on and get a big win.”
Hawks interim coach Anders Sörensen credited it to adjustments they made in the neutral zone.
“We just made some plays when the game was on the line,” he said.
Here are four takeaways from the win.
1. Connor Bedard must give ‘frustration penalties’ the hook.
In a lot of ways, Bedard seems mature beyond his years, but if there’s an area to clean up, it’s reckless penalties.
He appeared to have one of his, let’s call them, “frustration penalties” when he hooked Bruins center Elias Lindholm, wiping out a Hawks power play.
“It’s part of the game, (but) I think there’s some frustration there at times,” Sörensen said. “He’s a young kid, he’s learning. He knows.”
With two hooking penalties Thursday, Bedard has 12 this season — his most of any penalty, according to NHL Stats and Information.
“He’s got to work through that, obviously, especially on the power play,” Foligno said. “But it’s part of him learning the game and how to impact it.
“Certainly he wants to make a play every time or he wants the puck back as bad as possible. Guys are good in this league. They’re going to angle their bodies to put you in a bad spot. So he’s just got to learn timing and understand that important part of it.”
2. We need a ’30 for 30′ on Ryan Donato’s 30 and 30.
Donato celebrated his 29th birthday, which was Wednesday, by scoring his 30th goal Thursday. His 30 goals — a team high — and 30 assists are both career highs and will give the unrestricted free agent great leverage.
His 60 points trail only Bedard’s 61. Who knew Donato had it in him?
“He has the ability to shoot the puck,” Foligno said. “And it’s all coming together. It’s one of those years, too, it’s a special year for him.
“He’s got a contract year and (he’s a new) father. You can see things start to sort out a little bit for him and who he is. He’s got a great role here. And it’s allowed him to play to the abilities that he has.”
3. Pat Maroon takes the cake.
Maroon is one of several ex-Bruins on the Hawks, including Foligno, Bertuzzi and Donato — all three of whom scored Thursday.
But the night before, it was all about Maroon. Foligno, Pastrnak and several other current Bruins organized a retirement party, complete with a cake.
“I was getting rejected all day,” Maroon said with a laugh. “No text, no response, and then I walked in and it was a surprise. A very special moment for me. It’s those little parts, those are moments you’re going to miss a lot.”
It dawned on Maroon that he had only two games left in his career, the last being the Hawks’ home finale against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. (He isn’t traveling with the team for next week’s season-closing trip to Montreal and Ottawa.)
“I think it will sink in on Saturday. I think it will sink in tonight, for sure,” Maroon said before Thursday’s game. “I’ve only got two games left in my career. It sucks, but everything comes to an end eventually, no matter what you do.
“I have no regrets leaving the game, like I said before. I think for sure Saturday will be an emotional night for me to put my skates on for the last time and get to do what I love to do every single day and getting to play with a group of guys that I really adore and I truly love — that’s not just these guys in this (Hawks) room but everyone I played with past and present.”
Maroon will hang ‘em up after 14 seasons and three Stanley Cups — not bad for, in his words, “not a highly talented player.” But he said any career successes pale in significance next to the bonds he created with teammates, coaches, staff and others.
Maroon spent about three months with the Bruins after being traded there last season, and they threw him a party.
“The beauty of it is, I hope I impact a lot of players leaving the game, and that’s all I care about,” Maroon said. “Stanley Cups don’t mean nothing. I just want to leave an impact on the guys I ever played with.
“And, yes, is that icing on the cake, winning? But the most important thing is building friendships and leaving the game with people like last night, that you put a spark in someone or you put an impact in their life, and that’s all I care about.”
4. Anders Sörensen didn’t take no-calls lying down (this time).
Sörensen wants to make it clear he can bring some bark to the bench. There have been a handful of times Bedard, Frank Nazar and others have gotten a raw deal from missed calls, and it smacks of referees making younger players pay their dues.
Such was the case with Bedard on Thursday.
“He should’ve gotten a call,” Sörensen said. “We were barking a little bit at the ref there. Because he had a scoring chance, got hooked and didn’t get the call, so there’s some frustrations there.”
Pastrnak’s goal was due in part to his tripping of Kurashev, but the refs swallowed their whistles, perhaps reasoning that it was incidental contact.
Sörensen thought it was a trip.
“We did bark at the refs about that too,” he said with a smile.
