Erik Gustafsson rediscovers confidence after poor October led to healthy scratch

Gustafsson has looked more like he did last year, even if he hasn’t been perfect, in the Blackhawks’ last four games.

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Erik Gustafsson has started to recover his 2018-19 form over the past week.

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The Blackhawks have found a magic potion to bring out the best in Erik Gustafsson: scratch him.

Even Gustafsson notices it.

“Maybe they’ll have to do that every season now,” he joked. “No, no, no.”

Through the first month of the season, the 27-year-old seemed like a shell of the dynamic offensive defenseman who finished sixth in the league last season in points at his position.

His offense not only hadn’t reappeared, but it also wasn’t being offset by strong play in his defensive zone. Gustafsson lost his spot on the top pair with Duncan Keith and gradually slid down the lineup, playing fewer than 20 minutes in three consecutive games from Oct. 26 to 29. That didn’t happen to him once last year.

Then, on Nov. 1 against the Kings, Colliton tried to send a message by scratching Gustafsson. After one game back in the lineup, Gustafsson has his best four-game stretch of the season.

“Feels like I find myself that player I was last year,” he said Sunday. “Feels like I found my confidence back and feels like I’m firm with the puck right now. Feels like I’m taking charge of the puck wherever it is.”

Remarkably, the exact same thing happened last year. After Colliton shockingly scratched Gustafsson in mid-January, he had one of the most productive, effective stretches of his career. 

That phenomenon is unfolding again. 

He has regained his spot with Keith, attributing that for part of why his confidence has surged back. He played more than 21 minutes against the Sharks and Canucks and a whopping 25:28 against the Penguins before sliding down to 19:08 against the Maple Leafs — an off game for Gustafsson, as well as the rest of the defense.

The misstep Sunday proves the Swede remains occasionally questionable in his own end, and he probably always will be. His offense remains dry, too. He’ll enter the game Wednesday against the Golden Knights without a point in 11 consecutive games.

His defense, physicality and puck movement are at least improving enough to make up for those weaknesses, though.

“He’s a guy who needs to make plays in order to feel like he’s giving to the team, and I think the last few games he just looks more comfortable,” Colliton said last week.

Colliton and Gustafsson sat down when he was scratched to go over video and talk about “being tougher in front of our net,” as Colliton has done regularly with his rotating cast of surprising healthy scratches (with great results). 

Even though Gustafsson has taken that to heart, his long-term future with the Hawks remains in question. 

He’s a pending unrestricted free agent next summer and will command a hefty raise from his current $1.2 million cap hit, and the Hawks might not be able to afford it. Adding in the similarities in style between him and future cornerstone Adam Boqvist, Gustafsson likely will hear his name often in trade rumors.

Still, the Hawks will want Gustafsson at his best, not only to raise his trade value, but to continue propelling their turnaround. And scratching him seems to have done the trick again.

“I thought about my game before, when I got scratched,” he said. “It’s not [enough to] just go out there and be on the ice. I have to be that player to try to help my team every game. With my offensive skills and stuff, I’ve got to prove more.”

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