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Connor Bedard was working overtime in more ways than one during the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday at the United Center.
He scrapped and clawed in front of the net and opened the game with his first “garbage” goal. He was gapping up and checking Jets offensive defenseman Josh Morrissey and otherwise handling his business in the defensive zone.
And most impressively, Bedard gunned the overtime game-winner — his first — against Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
“Connor, I thought he was excellent, not just with the puck tonight but even away from the puck,” coach Luke Richardson said. “We’ve asked him to add some things to his game and figure some things out at this level when he doesn’t have the puck.”
That doesn’t mean Richardson or Bedard’s teammates are any less amazed by what the rookie can do with the puck with the game on the line.
“It’s a good goalie to beat him clean like that,” defenseman Connor Murphy said.
Richardson said the way Bedard drags and releases gets goalies to shift.
“Hellebuyck’s probably ready at all times, then he probably has to shuffle a little bit because when (Bedard) drags it, he drags it behind him but a little bit sideways, so Hellebuyck’s probably moving just a little bit,” he said. “If you watch in slow motion, you probably see movement.
“Then the puck just goes in that seven-hole, it’s either under the glove or over the pad and it’s (beside) Morrissey’s legs. It’s a bit of a screen. And as he drags the puck, he’s probably 3-4 feet closer to the net, which means things happen quicker.”
Mrazek agreed: “It was a good shot through the D and I don’t think Hellebuyck saw it.”
It’s a good thing other Hawks can break it down, because Bedard is not exactly effusive talking about his own goals.
“I just saw a lane and I’m in the middle of the ice, so I thought I’d shoot the puck and try to hit a spot,” he said. “And fortunately, it went in.”
Richardson said, “He’s got a humble background. He’s a really good person. I don’t think he really wants all the attention, but he’s going to have to get used to it.”
Here are five takeaways from the win.
1. Here’s Bedard for openers …
Bedard scored the opening goal of the game for the sixth time this season, for all the good that does the Hawks. They had never converted the early gift into a win — until Wednesday. Bedard took matters into his own hands in overtime and squared away the win.
Here’s a look at the times Bedard has scored the game’s first goal, along with games he at least scored the Hawks’ first goal:
- Oct. 11 at Boston: opening goal (3:57 into the 1st, Loss)
- Oct. 21 vs. Vegas: opening goal (1:30 into the 1st, Loss)
- Oct. 30 at Arizona: opening goal (0:28 into the 1st, Loss)
- Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay: first Hawks goal (4:42 in the 1st, Win)
- Nov. 22 at Columbus: first Hawks goal (15:41 into the 1st, Loss)
- Dec. 2 at Winnipeg: opening goal (4:39 in the 1st, Loss)
- Dec. 12 at Edmonton: opening goal (3:21 in the 1st, Loss)
- Dec. 23 at St. Louis: first Hawks goal (3:49 into the 1st, Loss)
- Dec. 27 vs. Winnipeg: opening goal (15:57 into the 1st, Win)
Bedard’s not just putting in midrange wristers either.
The goal against the Jets represented another step in his evolution: a bang-bang-bang play.
After passes from Connor Murphy and Philipp Kurashev set him up, Bedard fired from the right circle. And after the puck bounced back beneath him, Bedard snapped the second shot from between his legs. He muscled in the falling finisher as Vladislav Namestnikov bumped him to ice.
“It was a good play by Kurshy and Murph, and I just kept kind of whacking it and eventually it went in,” Bedard said. “You’ve got to have some of those kind of garbage ones, and that might have been my first one like that.”
The sequence happened the next shift after the Hawks got their first shot on goal by Anthony Beauvilier.
”We weren’t generating shots to start the game, so that first goal for Bedsy, to show (how) staying hungry out there on the puck around the net, that a lot of times those first shots aren’t going to go in and just the tenacity (you need) has you go to the net to get that chance,” Murphy said.
2. Petr Mrázek proved as pivotal as Bedard.
The Jets made sure the goalie was awake from puck drop.
Eleven seconds in, the Jets’ Nino Niederreiter launched the game’s first shot from the neutral zone and it clanged off the iron.
“First shot right to the crossbar from the red line, wasn’t expecting that,” Mrázek said. “A lot work in the first period. They were going hard. But we settled in.”
The Hawks needed every one of his 37 saves.
As Mrázek has managed to keep his past groin problems in check, his game keeps getting stronger. He’s more than held up his end, winning three of his last four starts.
“It’s crazy some of the saves he makes on a nightly basis,” Bedard said. “He’s been unreal every game and whether it’s him or Arvid Söderblom, we’ve got a lot of trust in both. Obviously Raz tonight was pretty special.”
Mrázek chalked it up to being healthy.
“When I feel good, I know I can play the game how I want to play,” he said. “Things we’re doing with (goalie coach) Jimmy (Waite) on the ice during practices helps. That gets you a lot of confidence.”
3. Bedard’s ‘Michigan goal’ revisited.
Bedard and Ducks center Trevor Zegras stole the show when they each scored lacrosse-style goals Saturday.
Bedard said before Wednesday’s game he received a few texts, and one was from Zegras.
“It was kind of funny,” Bedard said. “It’s rare for them to go in. For a couple to happen on the same night, it’s a funny coincidence.”
Coincidence? Not Zegras trying to one-up the rookie?
“No, I don’t think it’s something you go into a game planning on,” Bedard said. “It’s so hard to get space behind the net. If it’s there, I just see it as a good scoring chance.
“Obviously it’s fancier. I think goalies are obviously getting more certain of reading it and stuff, but sometimes might catch them off guard. If it’s there, it was obviously there for myself and him, we both got fortunate that we scored.”
For what it’s worth, Bedard said he liked Zegras’ execution better.
“He picked it up kind of with his toe there, so I think that’s a little harder,” he said.
On Saturday, Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky told Bally St. Louis, “I couldn’t do what he did tonight, That just wasn’t in my repertoire.”
Bedard joked: “Maybe not with the curve (of the stick) that he was using.”
But Bedard said having “probably one if not the best player to ever play the game” mention him and say “kind words” about him was special.
“No, I’m sure if he tried, he could do it pretty well,” Bedard said.
4. The Hawks’ near-15 minute drought didn’t go unnoticed.
The Hawks could hardly set up a chance in the first half of the first period against the Jets defense. And when they did, they either missed the connection on passes or got a little too cute trying to set up shots.
Finally, Beauvillier got the Hawks’ first shot on goal 14 minutes, 56 seconds into the game.
“It’s funny, I think watching the game you pay more attention to that than when you’re in it,” Murphy said. “You glance up on a whistle and might see that.”
Bedard added, “Obviously not the start we wanted. Coming out of the first, we knew that we had a lot more and we were lucky to be up (1-0). We knew that we hadn’t created enough, not in their end, and didn’t play down low enough.”
5. The PK pitched a shutout.
Chicago Tribune Sports
The Jets had four chances against the Hawks penalty kill and didn’t convert any of them.
The last one came on with just under 3 minutes left in the game tied 1-1.
“I think the penalty kill did good,” Murphy said. “It felt like we had momentum on it, so I think we felt confident on it. I thought we did a better job tonight of when we did have loose pucks, that we closed on them and we were able to find guys to get clears — whether it was bumping it to forwards in the middle or guys holding onto it and muscling it out.
“That’s a big part of the kill and a lot of times good power plays are able to strike when you have those second chances against.”
Richardson said the kill stymied what the Jets like to do.
“They do more of a speed breakout because that’s what their team is,” he said. “Our guys handled that well on the entries. We had a lot of broken plays where we could ice the puck and faceoff wins with bumps, so the guy has a chance to clear the puck right away.
“I think that frustrates the other team, so maybe we frustrated them a little bit.”