At first glance, Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall sometimes looks like he’s skating in slow motion.
In actuality, Hall is skating quickly. It just doesn’t take him many strides to cover a lot of ground.
That’s due to his unusual body dimensions and unusual skating motion, which sometimes has the unintended yet welcome benefit of allowing him to catch opposing players by surprise.
“We skate how we are built anatomically,” Hall said Friday. “I have a short femur — I have short legs, really — so that allows me to be lower to the ice and have more room to maneuver as I’m still low. . . . If I stand next to someone that’s also 6-1, their legs will be [one or two inches] longer than mine, even though we’re the same height.”
Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta — a former Hawk, although well before Hall’s tenure — became the latest victim of his deceptive speed Thursday.
Only four minutes into the first period, after T.J. Brodie’s stretch pass out of the Hawks’ defensive zone, Hall found himself one-on-one against Rutta down the left wing.
He feigned a slight move toward the slot, then cut wide and caught Rutta — who seemed perplexed by Hall’s speed — completely flat-footed.
That gave him an opportunity to beat Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek through the five-hole and ignite the Hawks en route to their 4-2 victory. It was Hall’s first goal in 347 days — his first since undergoing ACL surgery last November — and that made it particularly special, as his emphatic celebration demonstrated.
“When I heard that anthem, I was pretty fired up to play,” he said. “I’ve put a lot of work in — a lot of workouts by myself and all that stuff. That’s just part of the job, but it’s nice to get rewarded.”
The first #Blackhawks goal of the year at the United Center belongs to Taylor Hall!😤 pic.twitter.com/CW72g2O07z
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) October 18, 2024
Hawks coach Luke Richardson has been singing Hall’s praises since the first day of training camp, and he mentioned that Hall should’ve gotten an assist on Jason Dickinson’s goal in the third period. Hall made a well-placed dump-in before skating off for a line change.
That would’ve given him three points in his first five games, but even with two, he has been pleased with his performance.
“I’m pretty comfortable with how I feel body-wise, and I think my brain is starting to catch up to the pace of play and how our team plays,” Hall said.
Added Richardson: “[He has] all kinds of smart things in his game, but the power and speed have always been there. I’m more impressed with his wall work, being so strong on pucks. It’s really hard to contain him there. That might not get as much credit to him as he deserves. [I’m] happy to see him playing at his pace of when he was one of the top goal-scorers in the league.”
Hall’s knee injuries, in 2019 and 2023, have knocked him off that career peak. Even though he has struggled to keep his knees healthy, he said his hips — a source of pain and tightness for many NHL players — always have been flexible.
Those anatomic quirks, plus his dedication to stair-based training (essentially running up and down stairs) from a young age, explain his long, efficient skating strides. To add another dimension to that advantage, he has worked in recent years on varying his pace and direction.
“Sometimes being able to change speeds is more important than how fast you’re actually going if you can keep the defenseman flat-footed — like on that play,” he said. “You always want to keep a good distance between you and [the defenseman], so he can’t stick-check you and end the play. Being able to . . . keep him guessing is a part of it.”
Rutta, evidently, guessed wrong.