Blackhawks rookie forward Oliver Moore considers himself lucky the lower-body injury he suffered March 8 against the Stars didn’t turn out to be much worse.
He’s pleased he was able to resume skating and even practicing before the season finale Wednesday against the Sharks, even though he won’t play in it. His offseason training won’t be hindered.
But walking into the Hawks’ locker room in regular clothes after every tough loss in the last month, knowing he wasn’t able to contribute and wouldn’t be able to contribute the next day, either, has been an excruciating experience of its own.
‘‘It’s been terrible,’’ Moore said Tuesday. ‘‘I’ve honestly hated it. It’s so hard to watch these games right now. All you want to do is be out there helping the guys.
‘‘The biggest thing that we’ve developed this year is a tight-knit group, a unity within the group that you can feel, and we haven’t quit. There has been a lot of adversity, but we have a motivated group to come back and be better — for not only us [but] for the fans, for the organization. We want to take that next step. It’s going to be a huge summer, and we all know that.’’
That sentiment is shared throughout the team. The happiness and energy present throughout much of the season — even during loss-laden stretches — have disappeared during this brutal homestand.
‘‘I’m not having fun right now,’’ defenseman Louis Crevier said. ‘‘It’s a grind. It just sucks that this down[turn] happens at the end.’’
Said forward Tyler Bertuzzi: ‘‘Obviously, it’s a long year. Guys are coming back from injuries; guys are playing through stuff. I don’t know what [is causing this]. It’s frustrating. It’s something we’ve got to figure out if we want to . . . be a playoff contender.’’
Said forward Anton Frondell, who is only 11 games into his NHL career: ‘‘It’s not how we should play or how we want to look. And in front of our home fans, it sucks. . . . We want to give the fans a good night. Not doing that feels bad, of course.’’
For Moore, however, his injury absence afforded him plenty of time to reflect on things and plan out his summer, which he will start back home in Minnesota. He’s a sharp kid, and he’s recognizing how that sharpness gives him an advantage.
‘‘Over the past four or five weeks, watching games and talking to people here, it’s been a good opportunity for me to take a step back and really realize, ‘How is the NHL game played?’ ’’ Moore said. ‘‘There’s a lot of times guys aren’t moving extremely fast out there, [even though] the puck moves fast.’’
He traveled with the Hawks on their New York/Philadelphia trip in late March and analyzed games from the press box, looking down from above.
And he will continue studying the league during the summer. Replicating game situations might be a challenge, but nothing can stop him from watching endless film.
‘‘[In] juniors to college, I didn’t have to think the game as much,’’ Moore said. ‘‘Here, you have to really think the game. A lot of the steps I’m going to take this summer and going forward aren’t going to necessarily be physical or anything like that; I’ve put in the work there. It’s now learning the ins and outs of the game.
‘‘You look at guys like [Nikita] Kucherov, [Patrick] Kane, [Connor] McDavid [and Nathan] MacKinnon, they’re all obviously physically gifted, but they have that ability to think the game, as well. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there, but that’s what I want to improve on.’’
It will be interesting to see how this deep dive affects Moore’s defense next season. He already showed some promise defensively in 51 appearances this season, leading Hawks forwards with a 49.1% scoring-chance ratio.
