TORONTO — Forward MacKenzie Entwistle probably didn’t deserve to be scratched in each of the Blackhawks’ first three regular-season games, considering how well he played during training camp.
But there’s a reason Entwistle, 24, has become a favorite of teammates, coaches and fans in Chicago: He always brings a fun, lighthearted attitude to any tough situation.
And when he finally was inserted into the lineup Monday, Entwistle made the most of the opportunity, scoring the Hawks’ opening goal in their 4-1 victory against the Maple Leafs. After a second-period counterattack ended with a scoring chance for Andreas Athanasiou, Entwistle rotated into open space in the slot and buried a pass from Athanasiou from behind the net.
‘‘We were joking the shot maybe clocked in at 4 miles an hour,’’ Entwistle said, grinning. ‘‘But, hey, we’ll take it.’’
Dating to the Hawks’ intrasquad scrimmages during camp and including his four preseason appearances, Entwistle has scored four goals in his last seven games — and that’s despite bungling two golden scoring chances in a preseason game Oct. 3.
Now it’s just a matter of convincing coach Luke Richardson to give him consistent playing time, which might allow him to prove this newfound ability to get into dangerous scoring positions isn’t just small-sample-size noise. Even after cracking the lineup Monday, Entwistle logged only 8 minutes, 18 seconds of ice time, although being whistled for two minor penalties likely affected that number.
‘‘He had a pretty good camp, but it’s just where the [personnel] numbers fell,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘It has only been three games — it hasn’t been too long of a while — but it probably felt like 100 days for him. It was nice to see him. He played an excellent game.’’
It indeed had felt like forever to Entwistle.
‘‘On the bench in the first period, I’m like, ‘Oh, these guys are fast,’ just because I haven’t been out there in a game yet,’’ Entwistle said. ‘‘As I got my legs under me, [I] started making some plays.’’
He worked during the summer with Hawks skills coach Brian Keane on holding on to pucks for longer periods of time. On-ice training was obviously a big part of their work, but they also incorporated lots of video review. Some of that video wasn’t of him but of other NHL players with similar size and playing styles.
In the past, Entwistle had tried to model his game after Lightning-turned-Ducks forward Alex Killorn. This summer, one of the guys Entwistle studied most closely was Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek, whose 6-3, 200-some-pound frame roughly matches his.
Eriksson Ek’s elite defensive skills have made him an unheralded Selke Trophy candidate in recent years, but Entwistle focused more on Eriksson Ek’s offensive contributions, which often come from using his body to protect the puck down low around the net.
Perfecting that ability has transformed Eriksson Ek, 26, from an all-defense forward (who had only 30 points in 133 games during his first two full NHL seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19) to a true two-way forward coming off a 61-point season in 2022-23.
‘‘There’s lots of guys you can dissect games and take little things from, but that’s one guy I have,’’ Entwistle said during camp.
It’s theoretically still possible Entwistle, who has 25 points in 127 career games to date, could follow a similar late-blooming trajectory.
But even if he doesn’t, he still might be able to take one or two substantial steps forward offensively. He might have taken one of those steps this fall already.
Producing at a reasonable 20- to 25-point full-season pace certainly would be enough to keep him dressed — and make him useful — on the Hawks’ fourth line, which hasn’t established a clear identity yet.
