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DALLAS — With the Chicago Blackhawks in Dallas for four nights, Jason Dickinson is making the most of his return to the Big D.
“Definitely going to have to hit up a couple of good spots,” he said. “Went to Shinsei last night. Good one that we liked a lot when we lived here. Probably go to Nick & Sam’s tomorrow. It’s a staple, everybody already goes there.”
Good choice of words.
If there’s a word that describes how the former Dallas Star is regarded in the Blackhawks locker room, it’s “staple.”
“He’s an extremely reliable guy and I’ve known him for a long time and obviously seeing that (evolution) and his offensive game — I don’t really know if it’s improved — he’s always had it,” Taylor Raddysh said.
The Hawks lost 5-4 on Friday, with Roope Hintz completing a hat trick with 7.9 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Stars the victory.
While everyone’s eyes are rightfully trained on Connor Bedard’s team-leading 15 goals, Dickinson quietly sits in second place with 12, along with six assists. He had one of each Friday in the defeat.
He’s on pace for about 26 goals this season. That would top the combined 25 goals he amassed during six years with the Stars.
Dickinson said it springs from knowing what his role is.
“My main goal is to shut somebody down, and then the rest of my game can follow,” he said. “I find that helps me get out of my own head and play the game a little bit freer and know that as long as I’m taking care of that area, I’ll be able to find the rest of my game instead of maybe overthinking things, trying to do too much offensively.
“Definitely mentally feeling confident and good about where things are at.”
Dickinson credited some of the players who mentored him in the Stars locker room — whether they knew it or not.
“I think just being around guys, maybe not advice per se, but a lot of just watching and analyzing guys like (Jason) Spezza, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski,” he said.
“I’ve had the pleasure of being able to take bits and pieces from their preparation, their focus, their attitude and apply it to myself. And Jamie is a big one for doing the right things and being a leader on the ice.”
Perhaps even more telling than his scoring, Dickinson is second to Alex Vlasic (plus-7) in plus-minus rating on the Hawks at plus-6.
Raddysh said of Dickinson that “he’s maybe not put up as many goals (in the past), but he’s always been confident with the puck and played down low, and he’s hard in all areas where you need him to be. Right now the puck is going in for him, so it’s pretty cool that he’s been able to do that with how big of a player he is for us defensively.
“We’re happy for a guy like him that gets rewarded every night with just how good of a two-way player he is.”
The Hawks acquired Dickinson in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks for Riley Stillman before the start of last season. He has had a $2.65 million cap hit and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Chicago Tribune Sports
“At the end of last season, we saw it coming on, the confidence level as his role got more important as the year went along,” coach Luke Richardson said. “And he deserved it because he worked for it.
“Everything from improving his faceoff stats this year in the faceoff circle. It’s so important.”
Richardson pointed to an example from Wednesday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets when the Hawks found themselves on the penalty kill with 3 minutes left and the score tied 1-1.
“He’s winning a lot of faceoffs and we’re clearing the puck against a really strong faceoff team in Winnipeg,” Richardson said. “That alone lets us have the puck. It’s an important role for him.
“He’s finding the net a little bit more this year, which (when) his primary role is checking the opponents’ best line and he’s doing that with great stats, he’s a plus player and he’s scoring goals.”
Richardson said everything is clicking for Dickinson.
“It’s just maybe sometimes players find themselves at a certain time with a certain team,” he said. “That seems to be the case.”