Rookies stepping up when Blackhawks need it most

Hockey players don’t let things go easily. So even though Christian Dvorak’s deflection goal in the third period of the Blackhawks’ victory Thursday against the Coyotes proved meaningless, rookie Ryan Hartman still was kicking himself about failing to block Shane Doan’s shot from the point that led to the tally.

Hartman was standing perhaps two feet in front of Doan when he fired, but the shot still made it through.

Maybe Hartman can forgive himself after diving to break up what appeared to be a sure goal by Jamie Benn late in the third period of the Hawks’ 5-3 victory Saturday against the Stars — a play that basically saved the game. For Hartman, it was even more satisfying than the goal he scored.

‘‘Yeah, it was,’’ Hartman said. ‘‘I missed a blocked shot that ended up in the goal the other night. To be able to kind of do the reverse thing there was definitely nice for me.’’

Nice for the Hawks, too. Of all the positive signs that came out of a gut-check victory against the Stars — the superb second period, the third-period fortitude, the brilliant play by Patrick Kane to tie the score — perhaps the most significant was how much the rookies contributed to it.

Hartman had a goal, four shots on goal and the game-saving block. Tanner Kero had a terrific hustle play to set up Hartman’s goal and won his first five faceoffs. And Gustav Forsling, despite some defensive hiccups, was an offensive juggernaut, firing nine shots and scoring the second goal of his career.

With Hawks general manager Stan Bowman saying last week that he’s leaning against making a big splash at the trade deadline because he expects the rookies to keep getting better, it was an encouraging performance.

‘‘That’s huge,’’ Kero said of the vote of confidence. ‘‘They’ve given a lot of roles to young guys this year, and we’re trying to do everything we can to prove we deserve them and that we belong. As a group, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that. There’s room for improvement every day, but we’re all trying to earn our spot and stick.’’

There still are growing pains, of course. Forsling’s defensive game was as distressing as his offensive game was impressive. His turnover behind his own net led to Tyler Seguin’s go-ahead goal midway through the third period. And forward Vinnie Hinostroza was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game and defenseman Michal Kempny for the third game in a row.

With the Hawks safely ensconced in second place in the Central, much of the focus of the last two months of the season needs to be on tightening up the rookies’ games and making sure they’re ready for the postseason, when every mistake is magnified.

‘‘It’s huge for us,’’ defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. ‘‘We can’t just rely on our top guys to get points every single night. It’s tough for those guys, too, to play against other teams’ top D-men all the time. You can’t count on them to get two or three goals every night. So it helps us out a lot when the whole team contributes.’’

Hartman continues to lead the charge, with 12 goals on the season — all of them at even strength. He has exceeded expectations the most among the rookies and already has entrenched himself as a key player who can play top-line minutes or in a checking role.

‘‘You don’t really try to come in with too many expectations,’’ Hartman said. ‘‘The first thing was just to make the team. Then it was to stay as long as possible. To be able to contribute is nice, and it’s rewarding.’’

Follow me on Twitter @MarkLazerus.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com