Why Chicago Blackhawks players are responding to coach Luke Richardson’s approach: ‘He didn’t scream and yell and get emotional’

There have been occasions this season when the Chicago Blackhawks needed an intervention at intermission.

Such was the case for the first 15 minutes of Saturday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, who built a 2-0 lead and looked like they were going to run the Hawks out of the Honda Center before Jarred Tinordi’s goal late in the period gave the visitors a boost.

But that wasn’t cause for celebration.

“I mean, we all knew. Coming in after the first period, that wasn’t good enough,” Hawks defenseman Jack Johnson said. “We needed to regroup. And (coach Luke Richardson) came in with a simple — it was a stern message, but he wasn’t yelling and screaming.

“I think coaches that do that, the message gets lost after time.”

The Hawks rallied to win 3-2, but the outcome isn’t necessarily the point. It’s the response.

Captain Jonathan Toews knows that’s not something you can take for granted. The Hawks abruptly fired coach Jeremy Colliton last November after a 1-9-2 start because players weren’t responding.

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The Hawks went 5-5-2 in Richardson’s first 12 games and took a 6-5-3 record into Monday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center.

“Just comparing teams these last few years, regardless of what you have on paper, it doesn’t really matter if there’s no stability and consistency,” Toews said. “Guys know what their roles are, we know what to expect out of each other, we know what we all need to bring to find a way to win that game.

“So when your job and your role is straightforward … everyone’s bought in, everyone’s chipping in, it’s just much more clear-cut what you have to do to win the game. Whereas these last few years we’ve been kind of all over the place for some nights.”

Regarding that first intermission in Anaheim, Richardson said there are no magic words a coach can say at the break to get players to do what needs to be done.

“Just tell them the truth,” Richardson said. “We weren’t prepared at the beginning of the game. That’s not professional. We talked about maybe we don’t have the lineup on the sheet that other teams have in this league, but we’ve shown that we have some good resilience, some good desperation in our play and good team play.

“I just went in and told them: ‘We weren’t ready to go tonight. It was sloppy in the morning in practice.’ I’m not a big morning skate guy, and as the season goes along, I’d like to put most of them as optionals and save most of our energy for the night, but that means you have to be even sharper for the start of the game.

“I told them: ‘I could come in here and yell and throw things, but I don’t want to do that. I just want to make you guys realize.’”

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Toews said Richardson’s whole approach to his system is simplicity — in his structure and in his direct bedside manner.

“He has that presence,” Toews said. “You know, he came in the locker room after a not-so-great first period in Anaheim the other day and he didn’t scream and yell and get emotional. He just was stern but demanded more of us, and we all went out there and played better and we responded.

“He’s just a solid coach and a great leader that we all are responding to really well right now.”

The Hawks are 4-2-3 in one-goal games, but a couple of pucks bounce another way and you have a different record.

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Translation: There’s no patting themselves on the back for comebacks like the one in Anaheim.

After the game, Richardson asked the players: “Can we recognize that we got away with this one tonight? How can we learn from that so it doesn’t happen again or it doesn’t happen very often this season?”

Players have said it makes a difference that Richardson is a former player with a 21-year NHL career.

“He just treats us like men and professionals,” Johnson said. “And again, we all knew it, he knew that we knew it.”

As a veteran of six teams in his 17th season, Johnson has seen a lot of coaches at work. It’s what they say and how they say it.

“The message can be lost in how you deliver it,” Johnson said. “So you need a combination of the two, from my experience over the years, to get it through to the group and for them to really take it to heart.

“Everyone has a tremendous amount of respect for Luke and what he’s done as a player and a coach. He really understands where we’re at. … He’s been in our shoes for so long, and he understands what we need and when we need it. It’s really effective.”