Streaking down the ice Sunday night with the puck on his stick and the team’s leading goal-scorer — heck, the 37th-leading goal scorer in NHL history — on his left, Vinnie Hinostroza was shooting all the way, barely even glancing over at Marian Hossa before snapping a shot between San Jose goalie Martin Jones’ legs. It was a bold decision. A confident one. The correct one.
And one that, two or three months ago, Hinostroza probably doesn’t make.
“It’s really hard [not to force a pass],” Hinostroza said after his insurance goal late in the third helped the Blackhawks beat the Sharks. “He’s one of the best players in the world. You always want him to have the puck. But if you shoot the puck, you can get an assist, he can get the rebound. So I was just trying to get it on net there, and it found its way to the back.”
Since Artem Anisimov left Saturday’s game in St. Louis with an upper-body injury, Hinostroza has gotten another crack at centering Hossa and longtime buddy Ryan Hartman, and the small-but-speedy 22-year-old from Bartlett has run with the opportunity. After scoring just one goal in his first 23 games, Hinostroza has scored in consecutive games, including the game-winner in St. Louis. He has two goals and two assists in his last five games. His three-point night in Vancouver on Nov. 19 had been the only game in which he’d even recorded a point.
Hinostroza had been a little antsy about his lack of production, but not terribly surprised. After all, he didn’t score his first goal in Rockford until Dec. 18 last season, yet still finished with 18 on the season. He has reminded himself of that over the first few months of his NHL career to buoy his confidence and fend off frustration.
“I think this is the time of year where things start bouncing my way,” he said. “So hopefully, we keep continuing to get chances and hit the back of the net.”
Hinostroza’s comfort level has increased dramatically since the early stages of the season, when he seemed a step behind fellow rookies Hartman, Tyler Motte and Nick Schmaltz. Hinostroza was a healthy scratch eight times in a 10-game span, and was playing just 7-8 minutes a night. He was tentative, reluctant to shoot, and sometimes overwhelmed in his own end.
Now, he looks confident and aggressive in the offensive zone. And while Joel Quenneville would like to see him become a little more reliable in his own end, Hinostroza is feeling a lot less like a rookie these days.
“For us young guys, it’s felt like just hockey again for a while now,” Hartman said.
In fact, all the rookies got a major vote of confidence from the organization last month when they were granted permission to leave their downtown hotel and find their own places to live in the city — a sign that the team believes they’re here to stay. Hartman, Hinostroza and the others spent much of the circus trip looking for apartments online.
Hinostroza hasn’t been a healthy scratch once since Nov 11. And while he’s largely been relegated to centering the fourth line, he’s filled in admirably between Hartman and Hossa when Jonathan Toews was out, and again with Anisimov out.
“He gives us that dimension where there’s some offense to his game, and some quickness,” Quenneville said. “[His] all-around game is something that’s a work in progress. But certainly, he has the ability to make plays, and score goals, and add an element of speed to our team.”
And now that it’s mid-December and he’s found the back of the net again, the Hawks hope he’s just getting started.
“He was off to a slow start last season, and then finished off really strong,” Hartman said. “You can see goals come in bunches, and he’s really hitting his stride. When that’s happening, he’s a dangerous player. With that speed, he can make a lot of guys look silly out there.”
NOTE: Artemi Panarin was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week. He had three goals and seven assists in four games during the week, and has four goals in his last five games.
Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com
Twitter: @marklazerus
