Dillon Boucher debuts at 29, then fights Jeff Viel

Most NHL rookies are 19 and fresh out of junior. Boucher's road ran through 4 years of university hockey and 151 games with the ECHL's Wichita Thunder before he got here.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

4 years of university hockey. 151 games in the ECHL. At 28, FINALLY cracked the AHL. At 29, MADE THE NHL‼️ Welcome to the league, Dillon Boucher 👏

The debut came Wednesday in Sunrise, a 5-3 loss to the Panthers. Boucher played 8:10 on the fourth line and had 2 hits and a blocked shot. He took the rookie lap in warmups with no helmet, which is a pretty good flex for a guy who was riding buses in Wichita 2 years ago. He played 60 AHL games in Rockford before Chicago called. Nobody calls up a 29-year-old to score, though. He was there to make the other team uncomfortable, and in game 1 he spent his shifts looking for someone willing to drop the gloves.

He found one on Thursday night in Tampa. Early in the 2nd period Boucher laid a big hit, and Jeff Viel came over to answer for it. The 2 of them have history from their QMJHL days. It was a long fight and nobody was dancing. Both guys landed heavy shots, Boucher put Viel down for a second, and Boucher went down the tunnel bleeding from a cut above his eye. Viel left too, then came back later in the game.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

BOUCHER FINALLY GETS HIS FIRST NHL FIGHT AND WHAT A FIGHT IT WAS‼️👊

His linemates matched it. Chicago threw a season-high 31 hits, and the fourth line of Cole Smith, Ryan Greene and Boucher had 16 of them. Even Jon Cooper gave the Hawks credit afterward, calling them a young team that 'just kept coming and kept coming.' Jeff Blashill went further on his new call-up.

All that effort still lost by 3. Roman Kantserov scored Chicago's only goal. Ilya Mikheyev scored twice, and Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh added 1 each as Tampa went to 8-0 at home. That's 5 straight losses for Chicago and 8 in its last 9. The Hawks are now 4-12-1 and still haven't won a road game this season.

Goaltending is a big part of the problem. Arvid Soderblom made 31 saves on 35 shots, and a couple of the goals came from low-danger spots near the left circle. Even Blashill admitted there were 'a few there that he'd like to have back.' Ben Pope didn't soften it at all.

Soderblom is 0-3-1 with an.846 save percentage, down from.880 last year. The obvious fix doesn't look much better, since Drew Commesso has an.890 in Rockford. So Chicago has a backup goalie question, a 5-game skid, Carolina coming in Saturday, and a 29-year-old rookie who has made more noise in 2 games than most of the roster. Boucher will keep his spot as long as he keeps hitting people. The goalie decision is the one to watch.