Blackhawks rookie Ryan Greene has been snakebitten. Could an empty-net goal break his funk?

Blackhawks rookie forward Ryan Greene had racked up 62 shot attempts, getting 34 of them on goal, since he last found the back of the net Nov. 30.

Then Tyler Bertuzzi generously passed him the puck for an empty-net goal Saturday in the Hawks' 3-0 shutout win over the Predators.

Could that marker — even though it didn't require beating a goalie, only sliding the puck across the line on his backhand — be enough to snap Greene out of his funk?

Only time will tell. But it should help that Greene, a 22-year-old Newfoundland native, has maintained such a healthy mindset about his bad luck.

"I don’t want to say 'luck,' because I don’t want to rely on luck," Greene said recently. "I feel it’s just on me to find a way to get it done.

"It definitely sucks. Nobody wants to ever go through scoring droughts like this. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of chances every game [but] definitely haven’t been putting them in at a rate I would want to. But that’s something I’m working on. First year in the league, [I'm] just trying to figure it out."

Greene's 8.2% shooting percentage this season isn't actually that abnormal, largely because his 61 total shots on goal — of which five have gone in — aren't actually that many. He's not in rare company: 18 other forwards around the NHL also entered Sunday with 60 or more shots and five or fewer goals to their name.

The consistent quality of Greene's shots, however, likely explains why he seems so snake-bitten. The majority have been Grade A or at least Grade B looks.

Only one Hawks forward — Bertuzzi — has been credited with more five-on-five scoring chances (26) since the start of December.

Greene has demonstrated a surprising and impressive knack for slipping into open space in dangerous areas around the net and slot.

Despite his iffy finishing, his hockey IQ and positioning appears to be rock solid — not only defensively, which was his reputation entering the NHL, but also offensively.

It has been a few games since Greene last got really robbed, but it did happen several times last weekend against the Capitals and Golden Knights.

He bounced back from Knights goalie Akira Schmid denying his great chance for an equalizer in the third period by setting up Bertuzzi for an actual equalizer a few shifts later, though, which evidenced his unflappability.

"[Ryan is] a real even-keel person," coach Jeff Blashill said. "That’s part of what makes him a real good player: he doesn’t get too high [or] too low. Getting chances and not scoring is better than not getting chances, and I think he recognizes that."

Greene predicted last week that once he scored a few times, he would "lose that voice in your head" that has been reminding him, "You’ve missed for so many games." One empty-netter perhaps isn't enough to silence it, but it's something.

It's worth noting Greene will probably never be a hyper-efficient scorer. After all, he tallied just 13 goals in 40 games last season at Boston University, and that was his most productive collegiate season. But the Hawks have guys like Bertuzzi, Connor Bedard and Nick Lardis to fill those roles anyway.

And Greene has already exceeded expectations by proving himself to be a viable top-six option. He projected to be some type of defensive, checking-line center coming in — somebody who could make nothing happen (in a good way) for 14 minutes each night.

The fact he's already averaging 16:37 per game — 18:47 per game since the start of December — and making himself this noticeable just one half-season into his career is an accomplishment.

He has also shown positional versatility, looking equally capable at center and wing. The Hawks are taking advantage of that now that Bedard is back.