Knight’s demeanor, influence in goal helping Blackhawks find game

CHICAGO -- Spencer Knight always seems to be calm. The Chicago Blackhawks goalie especially keeps his cool during games and is great at making sure everyone is where they need to be.

“He’s not afraid to be loud or let us know if someone’s open or missing a check, which you need sometimes,” forward Connor Bedard said. “You’re not going to play perfect, but it’s almost like you can have another coach when he’s back there and you’re in front of the net or whatever.

“That’s always nice.”

Knight’s influence would be good for any team, but it’s been especially helpful to the Blackhawks, who are the third-youngest team in the NHL (average age 27.13) behind the Buffalo Sabres (26.28) and Montreal Canadiens (26.52).

In his first full season as a No. 1 goalie, the 24-year-old is 14-13-6 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He has three shutouts, including a 34-save performance in a 2-0 home win against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

But the impact of Knight goes way beyond his numbers. It’s his presence on the ice that is having a positive effect on all of the Blackhawks (20-22-7), who are trying to stay in the thick of the race for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“He’s so steady, every single night. It allows us to have him back there to kind of ground us and that stability is huge for the defense, huge for the team as a whole,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “We rely on him to make some big saves every single game and he’s always there to be up to task. We’re really lucky to have him and he’s been a great guy in the locker room and on the ice for him to have.”

He will be on the ice for at least one of the Blackhawks’ back-to-back games this week, the first coming against the Carolina Hurricanes (31-15-4) at Lenovo Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN1) followed by a home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning (31-13-4) on Friday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN).

But don’t assume because he’s calm, Knight isn’t intense, says coach Jeff Blashill.

“He’s very calm, pretty level-headed. Not easy-going, very competitive and serious, but level-headed. That’s probably really important,” Blashill said. “Any time you have the emotional ups and downs and highs and lows that we’re going to have with a young team and a young defense core, as a goaltender, just being able to stay calm in the face of adversity is really important.

“I think it’s important for all of us, but there are certain positions where it can really show up. He’s consistently done that.

“He hasn’t ever gotten too emotionally high, too emotionally low. He’s never let frustration become a big piece of what he's about. He just has a really good attitude, kind of like our team has a lot of nights, of learning from the game before and moving on. He exemplifies that.”

When the Blackhawks acquired Knight in a trade with the Florida Panthers for defenseman Seth Jones on March 1, they expected him to be their present and future No. 1 goalie. They showed that was the case by signing him to a three-year, $17.5 million contract ($5.83 million average annual value) on Sept. 13.

Ask Knight about his on-ice presence and he says, “I just try to be me.”

“I just try to support everyone the way I can. I just go about what I do and I guess I try to be a good role model,” he said. “All these guys, no matter their age, they’re all professionals and know how to take care of themselves and be good players. That’s what I like. Everyone is themselves and that’s all you can ask.”

Granted, Knight’s experiencing a lot of new things himself this season. He has started 33 of the Blackhawks’ 49 games this season, his heaviest workload in his NHL career. His previous high was 27 starts in 2021-22 with the Panthers as a backup to Sergei Bobrovsky.

“It’s a little condensed but yeah, it’s good. A lot of games in a shorter period of time, I guess,” Knight said. “It’s approaching every day with your best effort and that applies to everything. The way you prepare, the way you recover, all of that plays a role in it. it’s probably more important as the season gets busier.”

The Blackhawks have found more success this season and Knight’s demeanor is a big reason why.

“Calm but fiery. He just never seems rattled,” Bedard said. “He seems dialed, not worried. He gives up a goal, it’s not like he’s sulking or anything. His eyes are beating through his head and he’s ready to go. It Just adds a lot of confidence to our group. Just makes you play a lot more free.”