chicago_suntimes
During the second period of the Blackhawks' victory over the Jets on Thursday, Connor Bedard went tumbling headfirst into the boards, his surgically repaired left shoulder making contact. The crash didn't faze him, though, as his mind was elsewhere—specifically, on a missed opportunity. The young center had just squandered a wide-open net on an unusual sequence, and that frustration consumed his thoughts. He knew his shoulder was fine, and his lack of even a grimace as he got up and continued shielding the puck offered visual proof that the joint is fully healed.
With the Blackhawks looking drastically different with Bedard in the lineup compared to without him, his presence for the remaining 76 games is undeniably critical. "He's the guy," teammate Teuvo Teravainen said on Friday. "You can see his confidence and his swag affecting us, too."
Although Bedard's line with Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov wasn't as consistently dangerous on Thursday as it was in his season debut on Tuesday, he still could have easily recorded a hat trick. He ripped his first goal of the season on a power play, missed from a tight angle on the earlier play, and later rang a shot off the post on another power play. Kane, who set up Bedard's goal with a feed into the high slot, was left in awe. "I've been in that situation so many times where I'm the one getting the puck and creating," Kane said. "I was just like, 'Let's just get it to him.' And he was creating. That release... you can't teach those things, right? To pull it in, get it by the 'D' and hit the corner, it's just a special player doing special things."
Over the two games—both Blackhawks wins—Bedard has accumulated three points and six shots on goal from 13 attempts. He has also won 14 of 27 faceoffs, a small sample size but an encouraging sign considering he wasn't even cleared to take draws when he returned from a right shoulder injury last season. "I feel like I'm winning three in a row and losing three in a row," Bedard said. "I'd like to have a little more consistency with it, but it's felt good. That's something that, each year of my career, has improved." Indeed, his faceoff percentage has climbed from around 38% in his first two seasons to 47.1% last year.
It's worth noting that the Jets outshot the Blackhawks 10-5 during Bedard's five-on-five shifts on Thursday, indicating he isn't yet dominating at even strength to the same degree as on the power play. Coach Jeff Blashill also appears to be managing his workload; Bedard logged 19:05 of ice time on Thursday, a mark he exceeded in 54 of 69 games last season, and Frank Nazar took the first overtime shift instead of him.
A closer look at Bedard's shifts reveals few recurring mistakes—some rust would be forgivable—and it's clear he's working hard to make an impact in all zones. The skating improvements he made in the summer of 2025, focusing on speed and agility, seem to have stuck. For the first six weeks after surgery this summer, he could only do lower-body workouts, which he said got his legs "juiced." That leg work is evident in his hustle back to disrupt opponents' transition attacks. He may need to be more mindful of his responsibilities as the "F3" in forechecking situations—he drifted too low a few times—but that's a team-wide issue.
After hosting the Stars on Saturday, the Blackhawks will enjoy a rare five-day break with three practices, which should help Bedard further settle into a playing rhythm.
Originally reported by chicago_suntimes.