ELMONT, N.Y. — Through one game, the Blackhawks are undefeated in the Anton Frondell era.
The Hawks held on by the thinnest of threads to win 4-3 on Tuesday in Frondell’s debut, dealing a blow to the Islanders’ playoff hopes in the process.
The No. 3 pick in last year’s draft attempted five shots in 15:44 of ice time, skating on the first line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Greene as well as on the top power-play unit.
He earned his first NHL point with a savvy assist in the second period. He grabbed a loose puck as he skated into the neutral zone, kept his head up, spotted speedy Ilya Mikheyev streaking down the left side and fed him an accurate pass.
Seconds later, Mikheyev buried his 14th goal of the season through Isles goalie David Rittich’s five-hole, giving the Hawks a lead (2-1 at the time) that they never relinquished.
“It was wide open, so why wouldn’t I pass it?” Frondell quipped.
“I really didn’t know before what to expect [from the NHL]. My first shift, I felt like, ‘Oh wow, this is going really fast.’ Like [Isles star Mathew Barzal], when he comes at high speed, it’s hard to know what to do. But I just tried my best, tried to compete. I’m happy my first game is over.”
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill was more impressed with Frondell’s decision-making on the play than Frondell was, noting that most young players would’ve focused on Bedard slicing down the middle and not noticed Mikheyev open on the wing.
Tactical body usage was another skill Frondell improved significantly this season in Sweden, and he demonstrated that both offensively (protecting the puck along the boards with his body on numerous occasions) and defensively (boxing Isles forward Bo Horvat out of the crease on a rush chance against in the second period).
“He doesn’t cheat for offense…[because] really for two years, he’s played pro hockey,” Blashill said. “Sometimes when guys come from junior or college, they never have to defend because they have the puck the whole night.
“For him, he’s had to defend. He’s had to be a fourth liner. He’s had to do those kind of things. That helps him grow.”
Fellow Hawks rookie forward Nick Lardis was another standout Tuesday, notching his first career multi-point game with one goal and two assists.
Lardis’ elevation to the second line with Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi two games ago has elevated his play, too. The Hawks generated a 15-12 advantage in scoring chances during his (five-on-five) ice time, while the Islanders accumulated an enormous 40-8 advantage when he wasn’t on the ice.
“I think Lardis’ game [Sunday against the Predators] was his best game, and this one might have been better,” Blashill said.
Said Lardis: