Many NHL coaches view goaltending as a sort of foreign craft. They leave their goalies to their goalie coach and largely ignore their day-to-day routines.

Former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville certainly fell into that category.

“I remember ‘Q’ sometimes [would say], ‘Oh, that was a bad goal,’ ” longstanding Hawks goalie coach Jimmy Waite said. “I had to explain to him why maybe it wasn’t a bad goal, why [our goalie] played it that way. And then he’d say, ‘Oh, OK, that makes sense.’ “

But Hawks coach Luke Richardson does not fall into that category. As with many things, he operates differently than his predecessors in terms of the attention he pays to the Hawks’ goalies.

He’s so interested in them that Waite was originally taken aback.

“Working with Luke is weird because he really cares about what the goalies do,” he said. “At the start of practice, he wants to make sure they’re warmed up before we get to the harder drills. He thinks about the goalies all the time. And he knows a lot about goaltending. I’m surprised how he does it.”

Richardson attributes that characteristic to his long playing career as a defenseman, during which he had to communicate with tons of goalies when retrieving dump-ins and coordinating defensive-zone coverage.

It probably has something to do with his inclusive, hands-on personality and overall coaching style, too. Writing off goaltenders as eccentric, hard-to-relate-to specialists because of their job’s uniqueness wouldn’t align with how he operates.

“You need to talk to a goaltender in their language, their mentality, so I like to know a little bit about that and understand it,” Richardson said. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page, that our [approach] is working for the goaltenders or if we have to maybe change it a little bit.

“What we’re preaching, Jimmy likes it, and I think the goaltenders like it and are comfortable with it. We just have to execute things.”

Richardson’s attentiveness toward goaltending is especially relevant because goalie Arvid Soderblom, who made his 15th career start Sunday against the Rangers, is one of few high-upside prospects on the Hawks’ NHL roster. The more coaching and organizational investment he receives, the better.

The Hawks haven’t made their goalies’ lives easy this season. As with most of their other team weaknesses, however, there’s not much Richardson or Waite can do, considering the talent deficit of the roster they’re working with.

Entering Sunday, their team save percentage had dropped to .890 (ranking 25th in the NHL) and their save percentage against high-danger shots had dropped to .807 (ranking 22nd).

Petr Mrazek is the main reason why: He’s 2-7-1 with an ugly .872 save percentage and minus-7.9 goals saved above average (GSAA). Soderblom entered Sunday at 2-9-2 but with much better stats: .904 save percentage, plus-3.9 GSAA. Alex Stalock, who Richardson said Sunday could finally return from his concussion within a week or two, has been stuck at 3-2-1 with a .914 save percentage and plus-3.6 GSAA since Nov. 1.

Richardson has talked to Waite and the goalies a lot about the penalty kill, in particular, incorporating their feedback about “where they want to see the pucks come from” into the Hawks’ structure.

They asked for tighter coverage on back-door passes and chances, so that they can stay more square to tight-angle shots, prompting Richardson to work on that with his penalty killers.

“[The goalies] appreciate interest, and they’re a big part of the team, as well,” he said. “I ask Jimmy’s thoughts on, ‘Is that enough at practice? Is this good for practice? Is this good for the pregame skate?’ I like to give them the best opportunity to be feeling confident at the start of the game.”

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MINNEAPOLIS — Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan grew up playing basketball in a park in Compton, California, with a very simple rule:

”You want to go home with your ball? You’re going to fight to make sure that you play with your ball and you take your ball home,” DeRozan said.

The Bulls’ embarrassing 150-126 loss Sunday to the Timberwolves left DeRozan and his teammates without their pride, their dignity and anything that resembled any sort of fight.

”Giving up 150 points is beyond embarrassing, and we’ve got to feel that; we’ve got to feel that,” DeRozan said after the Bulls’ fourth consecutive loss. ”You’ve gotta feel low right now; you’ve gotta feel frustrated. Nothing against Minnesota, but it’s not like we’re playing against the 2016 Golden State Warriors.”

The 150 points were a franchise record for the Timberwolves and the sixth-most points the Bulls had allowed in their history (the fourth-most in regulation).

It was one thing getting dismantled by a Tom Thibodeau-coached team, such as the Bulls did in the second half of their loss Friday to the Knicks. After all, Thibodeau’s teams usually play with a physicality and attention to detail that can wear down a group that might have more talent on paper but not the will to stand toe-to-toe and trade blows when it matters most.

On Sunday, however, the Timberwolves were without big men Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf) and Rudy Gobert (left ankle). That should have made them easy pickings, right?

But that kind of thinking couldn’t have been more wrong, with the Bulls’ defense looking atrocious.

At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves were shooting 43-for-62 (69.4%) from the field and 17-for-30 (56.7%) from three-point range. They got what they wanted where they wanted it, often leaving the Bulls confused and pointing fingers at each other.

The Bulls’ lack of focus defensively was what was disappointed coach Billy Donovan most.

”I can switch to zone, I can switch to different pick-and-roll coverages, but if the compete level isn’t high enough collectively as a unit, it doesn’t make a difference,” Donovan said. ”When you line up and play, the beauty of it is it doesn’t make a difference what happened yesterday or two weeks ago. You are not escaping the moment of the physicality and what you’ve got to do.”

The loss left the Bulls at 11-18 in the standings, but where they are mentally is the real concern.

Donovan talked about togetherness and a willingness to sacrifice for the man next to you, but the Bulls seem to be missing that right now. And while several players were asked about it, no one really could explain it.

”Obviously, we’ve got to find that connection because when things feel bad it seems like it can snowball and feel worse,” DeRozan said.

As far as the front office answering questions about where the Bulls are and its accountability for that, a request for an interview was denied.

The Bulls will practice Monday in Miami and will look to avoid a fifth consecutive loss Tuesday against the Heat.

”Until we buckle down and realize we’re leaving this park with our ball regardless, we’re going to keep getting the same results,” DeRozan said. ”I’m tired of going home without a ball.”

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There was no question a new chapter would be written Sunday in the Blackhawks’ soap opera of drama with Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.

Trouba probably liked how the script turned out.

The hard-hitting, sometimes line-crossing defenseman blasted his second goal of the season past Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom in the second period, helping the Rangers run away for a 7-1 blowout win.

Perfectly for Trouba, Andreas Athanasiou — who had ripped Trouba as “an $8 million man with zero goals” after barely dodging injury from a signature Trouba high hit in Madison Square Garden earlier this month — was on the ice at the time. Trouba was seen yelling at Athanasiou, “Hey, do you want the puck?”

“If he wanted it, he can have it,” Trouba told reporters postgame.

Athanasiou generated several chances to answer back, but world-class Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped him each time. The Hawks enjoyed some of the longest attacking shifts they’ve had in weeks, but they were shredded in transition as many of their usual double-pinching and defensive sorting issues reappeared.

As far as physical altercations, Sunday was considerably tamer than the Hawks and Rangers’ last few meetings. Trouba played a clean game, even after Jake McCabe coldly bumped him following his goal. The worst hit was actually a late knock from behind by Sam Lafferty on Rangers forward Filip Chytil, who was injured and did not return.

The Hawks have now lost 15 of their last 16 games and been outscored 31-7 over the last seven.

“There’s this weight on our shoulders where when things go wrong, they go really wrong,” Jonathan Toews said. “It keeps snowballing in the wrong direction for us. We’re mentally having a difficult time recovering as a team.”

Kane, Toews hit 1K

Toews and Patrick Kane both passed their individual 1,000-game milestones in previous seasons, but Sunday marked their 1,000th game together in Hawks sweaters.

Honored with a video montage at the first TV timeout, they shared a hug along the bench and received a standing ovation from the United Center crowd of 17,365.

During those 1,000 nights since their first game together on Oct. 10, 2007, they’ve together factored into 298 goals: 116 scored by Toews and assisted by Kane, 110 scored by Kane and assisted by Toews and 72 on which they both assisted.

“[Jonathan] was a lot more serious in his first few years,” Kane said. “He still has that serious element to him, but I don’t think he takes himself as serious now. He’s able to laugh at himself a little bit.”

Added Toews, smiling: “There were moments where I was envious of his confidence, and I wasn’t sure where he got it from sometimes. … But now he’s, believe it or not, just down to earth. He’s focused on the game and just very real and very humble with who he is. We’ve both probably matured in a lot of ways — and stayed immature in some ways, I’m sure.”

Toews recalled a funny story with old fan favorite and unique character Dustin Byfuglien that demonstrated the competitiveness embedded in his friendship with Kane.

“If we were quiet [and] we weren’t on each other on the bench, ‘Buff’ just knew how to stir the pot,” Toews said. “He’d usually say something like, ‘Kaner, why don’t you pass to Tazer there?’ He would get us going. Next thing you know, the two of us would be fighting, and Buff would just be chuckling and laughing.”

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Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser discuss Justin Fields facing the Eagles defense almost by himself, the struggles of rookie Velus Jones and what they learned from a near-miss against the NFC’s best team.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify and Stitcher.

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Bears wide receiver Velus Jones isn’t the kind of rookie who’s going to let one mistake bother him.

Or two.

Or three.

Jones’ problem is that his mistakes are adding up. After muffed punts against the Giants and Commanders temporarily cost him his return job, Jones committed an even more egregious error in the eyes of coach Matt Eberflus on Sunday when he fumbled on a sweep in the third quarter of a 25-20 loss to the Eagles at Soldier Field.

The Bears were trailing 17-13 and had a first down at the Eagles 42-yard line with 5:52 left in the third quarter when Jones took a handoff from Justin Fields and sped around left end. But as Jones turned the corner after gaining two yards, Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox dislodged the ball while making the tackle and linebacker Haason Reddick recovered at the Eagles 43.

The Bears’ defense bailed out Jones when it stopped the Eagles on downs at the Bears 33 after five plays. But that’s not likely to cut Jones any slack with Eberflus.

“I don’t like that. I don’t like it,” Eberflus said. “I don’t like it when guys lose the football. It’s not good. Guys have to do a better job securing the ball.

“I’ll look at the tape. But when you’re in traffic, you have to have five points of pressure on the ball. That’s an important piece to it. We’ll look and see where it is.”

Jones, a third-round draft pick, has been lauded by his coaches for being headstrong through difficult times and not playing scared despite his mistakes. But perhaps he needs to play at least a little cautious, because staying aggressive isn’t fixing the problem.

“I’m an aggressive runner, so I’m always trying to fight for extra yards,” Jones said. “I tried to split two defenders, but [I] just gotta put two hands on the ball. I’m fighting for extra yards and I think someone got it out from behind me. So I know what to correct. I just gotta keep two hands on the ball.”

It remains to be seen how many more chances Jones gets.

“He’s got to stay encouraged. He’s got to keep working and doing the right things,” Eberflus said. “I know he can do it right, We’ll coach him to do it that way.”

With five rookies starting, Eberflus knows he’ll have to live with growing pains. But he’s a little less tolerant of them this late in the season. Even safety Jaquan Brisker, the best rookie of them all, got caught when he blitzed the wrong gap next to center Jason Kelce on a third-and-eight play from the Bears 22-yard line late in the second quarter. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scooted through the other “A” gap with a clear path to a 22-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead with 43 seconds left in the first half.

“We had two guys in the same gap,” Eberflus said. “The safety is supposed to be in the other gap. We should have had that dead-to-rights. That’s unfortunate that it happened.”

Brisker said the error was more because of rust from missing two games because of a concussion than a rookie mistake.

“Just a missed assignment from me,” Brisker said. “Just trying to make a play for the team. I knew we were in “zero,” but I told DHC [safety DeAndre Houston-Carson] to take the tight end, [and] I didn’t locate the tight end. Wherever the tight end is, I’ve got to go the opposite of that.”

But unlike Jones, Brisker’s error was a blip and not a red flag.

“Once [Hurts] scored, I figured I went in the wrong gap … [and] I moved on,” Brisker said. “I really don’t let stuff like that dictate my performance going on. I know who I am.”

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Three takeaways from the Bears’ 25-20 loss to the Eagles on Sunday at Soldier Field:

Punt?

With about three minutes to play in the first half, the Bears punted from the Eagles’ 30.

Yeah, you read that right.

During pregame warmups, kicker Cairo Santos determined that he couldn’t consistently kick field goals from further out than the 28 because, he said, of “how cold and windy it was.” The Bears faced fourth-and-26 after a Justin Fields fumble and a sack, so they couldn’t go for it, either. Trenton Gill punted 21 yards, to the Eagles’ 9.

Heading in the same direction in the fourth quarter, the Eagles went for it on fourth-and-three from the 34. They converted.

Six sacks

The Bears gave up six sacks — two each to Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick and Javon Hargrave — and lost a whopping 61 yards in the process. The Eagles relied on stunts, having their defensive linemen shoot through different gaps to confuse the Bears’ blockers.

“We gave up too many sacks,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “A lot of time that’s getting ready for the ball, handling the stunts as the offensive line versus that defensive line. They do it well. They’re aggressive. They’re violent. They have talent, a lot of talent up there.”

Former first-round pick Alex Leatherwood didn’t start, but rotated with Riley Reiff at right tackle. He struggled at times but recovered Fields’ fumble in the second quarter.

Go onside?

Trailing by five with 2:53 to play, the Bears decided to onside kick rather than try to boot the ball deep and force a three-and-out. The Bears’ analytics declared that to be the right call — they had only one timeout left — and Eberflus felt good about Santos’ spinning onside kick. Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith recovered it without incident.

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