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Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson scored twice in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the United Center, ending an eight-game goal drought. He had only one goal in his previous 16 games, too.
It felt good to get the monkey off his back.
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"No doubt I wanted to start helping out on the scoresheet more," Dickinson said. "It was a good night for it."
It was even more meaningful because it came in a win.
"I mean, I'm happy to walk out of a game with zero points and a win on any night," Dickinson said. "I don't really care to be on the stat sheet when we're winning, but when we're losing and I'm not contributing, it definitely hurts a lot more because it feels like I'm not pulling my weight."
Chicago Blackhawks
Dickinson pulled his weight on Tuesday, putting him at 20 goals for the season. It's a mark he's never hit before in the NHL and even more impressive when you consider the shutdown role he plays for the Blackhawks.
"He's playing against [Jonathan] Huberdeau again tonight a lot, and he had three goals against Toronto one night with [Auston] Matthews, one of the best goal scorers in the league, trying to shut him down," Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson said. "When you do that all year long and you’re scoring — I think he may have had one against Edmonton, which more than likely he’s on the ice with [Leon] Draisaitl or [Connor] McDavid — that’s a big accomplishment, playing the right way and being a leader for our team in all aspects."
Dickinson was admittedly proud of the fact he hit the 20-goal plateau. His highest total before this season was nine, which he's done twice.
Dickinson is up to 20 goals and 33 points, and he's still not done yet. Heck, there's still time for him to reach 40 points.
"I don't think anybody should ever be not looking at 20 goals and being very proud of themselves," Dickinson said. "It's a hell of an achievement. I've never cracked 10 before in this league. I did 20 this year, so it's fantastic. But there's still 10 games to go and lots of hockey to play."
