Luke Richardson talked a big game during training camp about the new way he’d run the Blackhawks’ penalty kill.

Five games into the season, the results have backed up Richardson’s words. The Hawks’ PK looks different than all 31 of its counterparts around the NHL, tenaciously forechecking complacent opposing power plays with two forwards as if not a man down at all, and the unique approach is working brilliantly.

Yet another shorthanded goal Sunday jumpstarted yet another multi-goal comeback en route to a 5-4 victory over the Kraken, the Hawks’ third win in a row.

“We’re never out of it,” forward Jujhar Khaira said. “But we’re relentless and we’re resilient. So we’re going to keep going.”

A sleepy start spotted the Kraken an early 2-0 lead as Hawks committed turnovers and lost puck battles left and right. But on a penalty kill late in the first period, Khaira forced a turnover in the neutral zone, found Colin Blackwell entering the zone and knocked in a rebound off Blackwell’s shot to give the Hawks life.

Tyler Johnson then potted two game-tying goals: First to level the game 2-2, then to tie it 4-4 with 7:03 left in the third period after a well-spotted and well-placed Jonathan Toews centering pass. Just 13 seconds later, Jason Dickinson buried what turned out to be the game-winner.

At 3-2-0, the Hawks are currently above .500 for the first time since March 6, 2021.

“Obviously, we’ve got to get to some better starts and hopefully play with some leads,” Johnson said. “But you’ve got to be happy with getting points and playing the way we are.”

Among all the Hawks’ surprising bright spots so far, however, the penalty kill stands clearly above the rest.

They’ve scored four shorthanded goals in three games, including Sam Lafferty’s pair against the Sharks and Connor Murphy’s long-distance wrist shot against the Red Wings. It’s the first time since February 2009 that they’ve scored shorthanded goals in three consecutive games, and the first time since March 1995 they’ve scored four shorthanded goals in a three-game span.

Even after Khaira’s goal Sunday, the Hawks effectively pestered the Kraken enough to kill off three more power plays, including a double-minor to Seth Jones during which the visitors struggled to enter their offensive zone and never produced a decent look.

The ‘PK’ forward duos of Lafferty-Dickinson and Khaira-Blackwell — all of whom are averaging at least 2:13 of shorthanded ice time per game — have been masterful on the forecheck, and the defensive pairs of Jack Johnson-Seth Jones and Murphy-Jarred Tinordi have been solid enough.

“You just find the right combinations where they can trust each other and work off each other,” Richardson said. “It’s very disruptive up-ice. The power plays do not like it. With our speed this year, why not take a chance, instead of just sitting back and letting the best players in the world come at you 100 miles an hour? Why not try to disrupt [them]…and maybe force bad passes, get them out of their routes?”

Since an admittedly awful debut against the Avalanche, during which they allowed four power-play goals, the Hawks have killed 14 of 15 opportunities and recorded a 19.4% shorthanded scoring-chance ratio, sixth-best in the NHL during that time span.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from last season when the Hawks ranked 24th with a 76.2% kill rate, 18th with a 12.2% shorthanded scoring-chance ratio and tallied only two shorthanded goals over 82 games.

“It’s just [about] reading off each other, trusting the three guys next to you and being able to know that if you’re going in [on the forecheck], there’s someone covering you,” Khaira said. “That’s the main thing.”

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As the Bears’ Matt Eberflus continues trying to establish legitimacy as a first-time head coach, he’s about to take on one of the legends of the profession in Bill Belichick.

As Belichick looks to overtake George Halas for sole possession of second place on the all-time wins list when the Bears visit his Patriots on Monday, Halas’ team has done little to slow his pursuit. The Bears’ lone win against Belichick was in 2000, when Shane Matthews outdueled Drew Bledsoe at Soldier Field.

That was Belichick’s debut season with New England, and everything changed when Tom Brady took over as starting quarterback the next year. Belichick is now a six-time champion with a 324-159 record and he has five consecutive wins against the Bears by a total of 71 points.

Belichick is 70, and depending on how long he plans to keep coaching, this could be the only shot Eberflus gets at him. The Bears don’t have another set matchup with the Patriots until 2026, though they could host them in 2024 depending on where each team finishes in the division the season before.

While Belichick certainly was fortunate to strike gold with Brady, his defensive mastery has been unmatched. The Patriots were top-10 in fewest points allowed the last 11 seasons and stand seventh this season at 18.8 per game. As someone who spent his entire 30-year coaching career on defense before taking over the Bears, Eberflus knows he’s up against true excellence.

“Look at the record,” he said. “We’re all really judged on wins and losses and championships, and certainly he has that… And his teams do the same thing — they’re fundamentally sound and they play football the right way.”

Under Belchick, the Patriots have been the model organization when it comes to that.

They draft and develop, they’re prudent in free agency and they identify talent where other teams miss it. Their contingencies are often better than other teams’ Plan A.

They constantly bring in quarterbacks and maximize them, making it little surprise that Mac Jones has been the steadiest of the 2021 draft class and even rookie Bailey Zappe seems instantly competent. Jones is questionable with anankle injury, and Belichick hasn’t said who will start Monday.

They’re an incubator for future head coaches and general managers,the Harvard of the NFL when it comes to player evaluation and scheme sophistication.

The Bears are more of a cautionary tale of what it looks like when a franchise can’t check any of those boxes.

That’s what makes wide receiver N’Keal Harry, for example, an intriguing case study. He was a rare draft miss by the Patriots, who took him in the first round in 2019 and couldn’t develop him.Theycut their losses by offloading him to the Bears for a 2024 seventh-round pick in July.

Can Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy — under the watch of general manager Ryan Poles — solve a riddle that stumped Belichick?

That’s more of a big-picture question. More immediately, Eberflus needs to show he’s able to hold his own merely in the game Monday.

He must prepare quarterback Justin Fields and the offense for the most unpredictable defensive strategist in the league. Eberflus has to prove he can use his defensive expertise to decode Belichick’s, and it shouldn’t be too much to ask of him to come up with a game plan that can flummox Jones (20 career starts) or Zappe (two).

If the Patriots overpower the Bears on the strength of their personnel, Eberflus will have to accept that. But he can’t allow Belichick to thoroughly outfox him. It’s not a valid excuse that Belichick is the NFL’s top coach. There are no weight classes in this league. Eberflus has to show he can trade punches with the best.

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KEY MATCHUP

Bill Belichick’s knack for taking away an opponent’s strength is legendary. Last week, the Browns came in leading the NFL in rushing (192.4 avg.) and the Patriots came in ranked 22nd in rushing defense (128.8 avg.) — yet the Patriots held the Browns to 18 carries for 70 yards in a 38-15 victory. Browns running back Kareem Hunt, who came in averaging 118.6 rushing yards per game, was held to a season-low 56 on 12 carries. Kareem Hunt had four carries for 12 yards.

So it’s pretty obvious what Belichick’s focus will be this week against a Bears’ offense that ranks 28th in yards and 31st in points — but second in rushing. Khalil Herbert (63 carries 402 yards, three touchdowns) leads the NFL in rushing average (6.4) and David Montgomery (62-246, one touchdown) has 100-yard potential despite a slow start.

“They’re very hard to tackle,” Belichick said.

It’s all starts up front. The Bears are expected to juggle their interior line, likely moving Lucas Patrick from left guard to center in place of Sam Mustipher, with veteran Michael Schofield starting at left guard and Teven Jenkins still starting at right guard.

The Patriots are banged up on their defensive interior. Defensive tackle Lawrence Guy (questionable) missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury and Christian Barmore (questionable) played just 20 snaps against the Browns because of a knee injury. But as usual, they found a way to get the job done, with defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon (six sacks) and emerging safety Kyle Dugger playing key roles.

TRENDING

The Bears not only were 0-for-3 in the red zone against the Commanders last week, but reached the Washington 5, 1 and 4 yard line without getting any points. They have scored two touchdowns in their last eight trips inside the red zone and are 28th in the NFL for the season (seven touchdowns in 15 trips).

PLAYER TO WATCH

Bears quarterback Justin Fields had 278 yards of total offense against the Commanders, including 12 rushes for 88 yards. But he’s 30th in the NFL in passing yards (869), 33rd in completion percentage (54.8) and 32nd in passer rating (72.7) — though 10th in yards per pass (7.6).

Field could get a boost from the return of wide receiver N’Keal Harry, the ex-Patriot who will make his Bears debut — perhaps on a limited basis –after injuring his ankle on Aug. 6. Aug 6. At 6-4, 225 pounds, he gives Fields a big target the second-year quarterback could use in an offense that has struggled to get receivers open.

X-FACTORS

The Bears are coming off a mini-bye after playing on Thursday night in Week 6 and are fully healthy — a rarity at any point of the NFL season.

The Patriots have not announced a starting quarterback. Mac Jones, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, is questionable. Rookie Bailey Zappe has a 111.4 passer rating in place of Jones.

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N’Keal Harry didn’t see Kevin White’s 64-yard catch for the Saints against the Cardinals on Thursday night.

“But I saw his stat line,” the Bears wide receiver said.

White’s big play may or may not be the start of something for the former Bears first-round draft pick. But just the one play was a reminder that if you have talent and hang in there, anything can happen. And Harry, like White a former first-round draft pick, is aware of the significance.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I watched [White] in college. I watched him coming out. So I know all about him.”

Harry will get a long-awaited opportunity to re-start his own NFL career on Monday night against the Patriots, the team that gave up on him and traded him for a 2024 seventh-round draft pick.

“I have a chip on my shoulder,” was the very first thing Harry said in his introductory press conference. But vindication is not Harry’s motivation Monday night. He doesn’t want revenge. He wants an opportunity — to prove himself right more than prove the Patriots wrong.

“It’s more about me,” Harry said. “I expect a lot out of myself. I know the way I can play. I know what I can bring to a team. So it’s just about [playing] the way I know I can play. Because I know I can play at a high level.”

Chicago, though, is one of the most challenging places for him to prove that. Muhsin Muhammad was overstating it when he said, “Chicago is where receivers go to die.” But Chicago is definitely not the place where receivers go to jump-start their career.

This season is a perfect example — with yet another Bears offense that looks like it’s being put together with instructions from IKEA. A first-year coordinator. A second-year quarterback. A pieced-together offensive line still in flux in Week 7. Five of six wide receivers who had not played with Justin Fields prior to this season.

Even Darnell Mooney –the best thing this offense had going for it –has struggled in this offense. He missed a chance at a touchdown against the Giants when he was open but ran the wrong route. He missed a chance at a touchdown against the Commanders last week — with a costly bobble –for the opposite reason.

“His route was almost too good,” wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said. “It’s a quick-in/back-out and he like killed the [defender] going in and left him behind. He had to fight to get back out, which he did and … he tried to make a play on the ball, bobbled it, caught it a second time. If he catches it the first time … we win the game. It didn’t happen that way.”

This is the kind of muck N’Keal Harry has to rise above, while trying to get his own stuff together. Even doing things right can lead to failure.

The odds are against him. It’s the Bears, after all. And Harry hasn’t played any real football since Jan. 15 — a cameo (five snaps) in the Patriots’ playoff loss to the Bills. And he hasn’t played much at all since injuring his ankle on Aug. 6.

But Harry has one thing going for him the others don’t. At 6-4 and 225 pounds with first-round athleticism, he can make himself open. “He’s more physical than I thought,” Tolbert said. “But don’t sleep on [his] wide receiver skills. He can catch the ball. He can make plays on the ball. He has an added advantage because of his size.”

Harry is counting on it. “I just want to be the player I know I always have been,” he said. “The type of guy that when a quarterback gets in a situation, he can throw it up and I can go get it. I can show my physicality, running with the ball — [doing] everything I grew up knowing I can do.”

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