For the second straight home game, a Blackhawks rookie scored his first career goal in the National Hockey League and didn't have to wait long to get it.
Three nights after Ryan Hartman potted his first as a pro, Nick Schmaltz did the same in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators.
Early in the first period and the Blackhawks attacking, Schmaltz retrieved the puck at the bottom of the left circle, made a slick deke on a Predators back-checker, then displayed his quick release by sniping one past the glove of Predators netminder Marek Mazanec to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
"It's pretty special," Schmaltz said of his first career goal. "You always want to get it out of the way as soon you can. It's definitely something you want to check off your accomplishments. It's a good feeling, hopefully there's many more to come."
It opened up the flood gates for the Blackhawks, who followed that up with goals by Brent Seabrook — on the power play — and Richard Panik — his first of three on the night — minutes later, racking up three goals in a span of 3:43.
"This team doesn't have a problem scoring," Schmaltz said. "Every line can score, so just to contribute, it feels good. It's a really good team win tonight, good to get the first one out of the way."
Despite playing on the fourth line, Schmaltz's ice time has increased with each game, starting off with a mere 8:51 against the St. Louis Blues in the team's home opener and growing to 11:45 and 12:08 in back-to-back nights against the Predators.
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Looking for balance, coach Joel Quenneville went to his line blender before the game and moved Tyler Motte and Marian Hossa to the fourth line with Schmaltz, and it turned out to be one of the better units of the night, most notably in the opening frame when they led the club with a plus-3 Corsi (six shot attempts to three shots against).
"I thought they were good," Quenneville said. "I thought Schmaltzy was really good. ... That line was effective. We had more balance in our four-line rotation."
Schmaltz even took a shift on the power play, easing the offensively-gifted forward into a larger role as he gets accustomed to the NHL game.
And he's quickly picking things up.
"You have a little more time than you think," Schmaltz said. "I think in the first couple games I was just chipping it because I was nervous to have it. But I've just got to focus on playing my game, that's controlling the puck, and that's how this team plays as well. Controlling the puck, not giving it back to the other team, making it hard on them and making plays out there."
Good things happen when Schmaltz has the puck on his stick, and he's beginning to recognize that he can do the same at this level.
The 20-year-old center erupted for 46 points in 37 games during his sophomore season at North Dakota — a 20-point improvement from his freshman year — and left college early because he saw an opportunity to earn a full-time roster spot on a team he grew up rooting for.
So helping the Blackhawks pick up their first win of the 2016-17 season by finding the back of the net feels good for a young player who envisions scoring more in the red, white and black sweater, which will help translate into more wins.
"It's good to get that first one, get that winning feel in the locker room and hopefully we got a lot more wins to come here," Schmaltz said.