On Tuesday morning after the morning skate, Connor Bedard was asked about how he gets over losses like Sunday night in Detroit. “Usually time, or you win the next game, you feel better,” he said. Well, the good news for Bedard was his next time out on the ice against an opponent would be against the same team (albeit different players). And he likely feels at least a little better about his performance on Tuesday night. Sure, he only won two of ten at the dot in 16:16 on the ice. But he led the team with five shots on net and picked up two assists before scoring his first (unofficial) (empty net) power play goal in a (preseason) NHL game.
You might have seen a moment in the third period where Bedard was getting harassed as he tried to cross the ice with the puck. He got into a little bit of trouble and just passed the puck to himself off the sidewall to buy himself more space. It isn’t something you see very often — especially in Chicago — but it worked and was another example of Bedard’s creativity and elite hockey IQ on display.
I think we can safely say the Bedard-Hall relationship is working, especially on the power play. Taylor Hall had three assists last night; he joined Bedard with three points in the 4-2 win. The $100 question is who settles in on their right wing. We’ve seen Ryan Donato be the first choice thus far, and Taylor Raddysh looked good with Bedard (without Hall). We’ve also seen a fair amount of Colton Dach with Hall and Bedard already and he’s been really good this entire preseason.
Some bad news from Tuesday’s morning skate: it looks like in Pittsburgh next week. Hopefully he doesn’t miss much time but this might open the door for someone else (MacKenzie Entwistle, Reese Johnson and/or Boris Katchouk) to sneak in the room to start the season. Or… is Colton Dach making a case to open the season with the big club? A positive from before Wednesday morning’s practice: Kurashev was on the ice working out.
Chris Peters (who does wonderful work covering prospects) dropped his ranking list of the top 25 incoming college freshmen this season. The Chicago Blackhawks have two players on the list — and they’re both playing for the Golden Gophers this season. Center Oliver Moore was No. 7 and defenseman Sam Rinzel was No. 17. Here’s what Peters had to say about Moore:
With Logan Cooley leaving the program late in the summer, the focus on Moore only intensifies. He’s not going to be a true replacement of Cooley as they play different styles and Moore should not be viewed as a candidateꦐ to put up similar numbers. That said, Moore may already be the fastes💫t skater in college hockey and can flip games with his speed. On top of that, Moore has a two-way game that allows him to make an impact in all situations. He should see significant minutes as a true freshman as the Gophers look to rekindle some magic from last season despite significant losses off their national runner-up roster.
This is AWESOME and something I’ve been begging the NHL Network to become for years. It looks like ESPN is going all-in on the first night of the 2023-24 season on which all 32 teams are on the ice, giving us a version of NFL RedZone. I’m so here for this! And I’m a big fan of John Buccigross so him hosting the festivities is even better. I can’t wait to see how this comes together.
Derek Stepan called it a career on Tuesday.
Finally, if you missed any of the playoff action in Major League Baseball yesterday, we’ve got you covered.
