The Blackhawks were on national television last night against a rival. And they blew them out of their own barn. The 8-3 win in St. Louis has a lot more people talking about more than the Blackhawks’ likely lottery odds in May right now, which is exciting.
I want to start by giving Lukas Reichel credit. He got into the lineup because Nick Foligno stepped away from the team and took advantage of his opportunity. We — fans, media, teammates, coaches, the front office — have all be begging Reichel to grab control of his hockey destiny for three years. Last night is only one night, but the guy we saw on the ice last night is why you don’t trade Reichel for a fourth round pick and call it a day.
After the game, Reichel said “I just tried to play free and have fun, and that’s what I did.” Jeremy Colliton, Derek King, Luke Richardson and Anders Sorensen all asked him to “go out there and play your game.” Yes, there were (still are) expectations that he’ll be more defensively responsible. But Reichel can impact a game so many ways with his speed. However Jeff Blashill and his assistants phrased the “have fun and play hockey” conversation before last night, standing ovation. Because it clicked.
Now it’s up to Reichel to do it again… and again, and again. Consistency has been his issue. And, at some point, Foligno and Landon Slaggert are going to be available and the roster’s going to get tight. If last night wasn’t a perfectly timed and executed showcase performance to move Reichel, he’s got an opportunity to help a lineup that’s becoming more dynamic from top to bottom before our eyes.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2025-10-15: pic.twitter.com/CtCQh7bKRT
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 16, 2025 I wrote about how well Wyatt Kaiser is playing defensively between games. He was really good again last night (even if the last goal of the night was a floater while he was on the ice with a six-goal lead). He was on the ice for almost 18 minutes at 5-on-5, during which the Blackhawks out-scored the Blues 3-1. Ben Pope tweeted a clip of him working on Jordan Kyrou. Textbook stuff here.Wyatt Kaiser, league’s second-best defensive defenseman, playing textbook D on Jordan Kyrou: pic.twitter.com/qDOWr5Q1ac
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 16, 2025 You know who else had a good game last night? Artyom Levshunov, who has been a much better version of himself since the healthy scratch. He finished the night with an expected Goals For percentage (xGF%) of 66.74 in 13:54 of 5-on-5 ice time. He only put one shot on net and was credited with just one hit, but he played mistake-free hockey most of the night and was the only defenseman to finish plus-three in the game. I made the entire line my No. 1 Star(s) of the game, but I want to take another moment to applaud the work the Blackhawks’ third line did last night. Specifically, Jason Dickinson was an absolute beast. He won 11 of 16 faceoffs, finished plus-three and was credited with one hit, one blocked shot and one takeaway. Dickinson had the best xGF% on the Blackhawks’ roster last night (83.59). When your *third line* center is on the ice and the Corsi numbers are 21 for and only 11 against (21 being tied for the highest number of shot attempts at 5-on-5 in the game), that’s beautiful. Against Robert Thomas, the Blues’ top center, Dickinson had an xGF% of 90.92 and the Blackhawks out-scored the Blues 3-1.With Wednesday night's games in the books, there are 16 players in the NHL with at least 6 points. Three of them are Chicago #Blackhawks Connor Bedard – 2 G, 4 AFrank Nazar – 2 G, 4 ATeuvo Teräväinen – 1 G, 5 A pic.twitter.com/U9T4DPBfuV
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) October 16, 2025 Some Blackhawks’ learning moments were still there in the blowout win. One thing the young guys who are newer in the league are still figuring out is how to avoid heavy contact. Sam Rinzel got absolutely blown up by Dylan Holloway in the first period. He bounced up, but this isn’t the first time he’s been on the nail and not the hammer. He’s going to have to learn to avoid big hits like this soon. Rinzel’s a skilled defenseman and a big target.pic.twitter.com/OM3zuTBSFj
— BlackhawksFocus (@FocusBlackhawks) October 16, 2025 Some concerning reports about the rink being built for the Olympic hockey tournament being behind schedule were brought up at the Board of Governors meetings in New York yesterday. Gary Bettman has heard them, and he’s not thrilled. Good updates here from Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic.Gary Bettman expresses concern that NHLers could compete on untested ice at Milan Olympics. Update from BOG in NY for @TheAthletic ⤵️ t.co/vzHm0oVj29
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 15, 2025 This is a great read — highly recommend — from Scott Wheeler and Joe Smith at The Athletic about how NIL is changing the world of college hockey.? at @TheAthletic: NIL and revenue sharing is beginning to change college hockey.@JoeSmithNHL and I spoke to more than a dozen NCAA coaches on money and recruiting. Our feature: t.co/FabJCkyVVB pic.twitter.com/RT1BlngkIH
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) October 15, 2025 The New Jersey Devils announced goaltender Jacob Markstrom will be out a couple of weeks. He got hurt on Tuesday night. Nico Daws was brought back up from the AHL. The Florida Panthers announced defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will miss the next five months after undergoing surgery for an upper-body injury. The Kings have some issues to deal with in net. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reported Darcy Kuemper was not at practice (lower body) and was considered day-to_day. But… then the Kings acquired goaltender Pheonix Copley from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for future considerations. Something to keep an eye on in LA. The Blackhawks host the Kings on Oct. 26.BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
The Pope threw shade at the Cubs? Troy Aikman’s comments on MNF are motivation for Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson Ayo Dosunmu has looked more than fine in his first action since shoulder surgeryHence then, the article about good reichel dickinson dominates avoiding big hits olympic concerns and other blackhawks bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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