Byfuglien pays immediate dividends for Hawks

On Thursday night, Dustin Byfuglien would have been the first one to tell you he's had a disappointing year. After a 20-goal, 57-point season in 2017-18, including a 12-game run in the playoffs with Anaheim, the 34-year old defenseman has scored just four goals and has been witness to a 23-40-5 collapse this season with the Ducks.

Fast forward to Friday night, and Byfuglien would probably have told you he was on top of the world.

Just hours after being dealt in what many felt was a shocker of a trade, Byfuglien stepped onto the familiar ice of United Center as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks once again. Just two and a half hours after that, his arms were wide in that familiar pose, having just scored his first goal as a Blackhawk in almost a decade, propelling Chicago to a 4-3 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"I can't really put it into words, and I'm not usually at a loss for words," said Byfuglien, who also assisted on Jordan Staal's game-tying goal in the third period. "It's been a whirlwind, but it feels really good to be back here and back in a playoff race."

Byfuglien joins Chicago with just 14 games left in the regular season. The win puts the Blackhawks a point behind Dallas for third place in the Central Division, and six points behind Nashville for second place.

Asked about not only being able to play such a short time after the deal was announced - but also contributing with the game-winner, Byfuglien just smiled.

"I don't think anyone could have written that any better."

The 19,717 fans who sold out United Center were chanting his name all night long. It was a festive atmosphere, moreso than usual. The feeling in the air was one of anticipation, that there may be more for this club beyond simply competing for respect as was the case last season.

"It's something special, this season," said GM Thomas Gidlow. "Last season was about #30to1 and restoring the franchise to where it should be. This season, we want more and the players and fans want more. We just have to keep digging in and make sure we do everything we can to give it to them."

Speaking of action, Chicago is 6-0-1 since firing former head coach Gerald Gallant. New coach Ken Hitchcock has implemented some basic aspects of a system but has largely let the players play to their strengths.

"I don't think it's any mystery when you have a team as skilled as this one," said Hitchcock. "You have to have a structure, but it has to be built for the players in that system. I think it was a bit too rigid before, but as we're seeing now, there isn't a lot you really need to tell these guys in order to be successful."

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DEADLINE DAY

Chicago made four roster moves just before the 3pm trade deadline earlier today. The club announced the acquisition of veteran forward Ryan Callahan from the Los Angeles Kings for farm forward Ryan Gropp and a fourth-round pick in the 2019 EHE Entry Draft. Magnus Paajarvi was also acquired in a deal with the Calgary Flames for farm forward Lukas Jasek.

"We did what we set out to do today, which was bolster our bottom six," said Gidlow. "We had some other irons in the fire but overall, we're pretty happy with what we've done over the past couple of weeks."

The Blackhawks, of course, acquired center Joe Thornton and Jordan Eberle in the days leading up to the deadline and brought in Byfuglien the night prior to the deadline.

The Hawks also placed newly-acquired forward Chris Terry on waivers for the purposes of re-assignment to Rockford of the AHL and announced the signing of free-agent defenseman Kevin Spinozzi to a two-year deal. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

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DEPTH CHART

LW-C-RW

Brendan Gallagher - Jonathan Toews - Reilly Smith
Erik Haula - Joe Thornton* - Jordan Eberle
Andrew Cogliano - Jordan Staal - Ryan Callahan
Kyle Clifford - P-E Bellemare - Colton Sissons
Extra: Magnus Paajarvi (LW/RW)

D-D

Matt Niskanen - Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Orlov - Derek Forbort
Daniel Girardi - John Moore
Extra: Taylor Fedun

G

Tuukka Rask
Curtis McElhinney

*=Injured Reserve, due back within 5-6 days