Bedard vs. Matthews, Hall Returns, Faceoff Problems, Tomkins’ Debut, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

So remember when Taylor Hall skated off the ice ion Boston favoring his left shoulder? And after the game when head coach Luke Richardson said it might be week-to-week and they were going to have to figure a few things out? Well, they figured out the lines need some help in Montreal. And Hall figured out he’ll be ready to go Monday night in Toronto (albeit not at 100 percent). We’ll see how effective he can be and how much ice time he can handle, but Hall’s better than the available alternatives on the roster.

  • The Blackhawks are not holding a morning skate today in Toronto.
  • I’m excited to see how amped up Connor Bedard is tonight in Toronto. Not only is it his first game against the Leafs, but he has talked so much about how he admires Auston Matthews’ shot — and Matthews about his — that this might be a good night to bet the over.
  • Bedard has a point in each of his first three career games — but only one goal. With the Blackhawks off to an 0-14 start on the power play we’ll see if they can get that unit on the board tonight. There’s been a ton of talk about Matthews opening the season with back-to-back hat tricks, but let’s not sleep on the reality that the Leafs have allowed nine goals in their two games. With all due respect to the former Blackhawks on the other bench tonight, Toronto is not a good defensive team.
  • The Blackhawks rank dead last in the NHL in the faceoff circle at 31.7 percent. One of the ways to improve the power play is to win the draw so you have possession of the puck (as noted after the game on Saturday night by Caley Chelios). Somebody is going to have to start winning faceoffs or Yanic Perreault is going to be scoring some Marriott points in Denver. Toronto has won half of their faceoffs entering Monday.
  • This was a pretty cool moment last night in Ottawa. The Lightning were down a few bodies — including Steven Stamkos — and lost 5-2 to a motivated Sens squad. In net for the Bolts was Matt Tomkins, making his NHL debut. If the name rings a bell, Tomkins was a seventh-round pick by the Blackhawks back in 2012 and spend parts of three years in Rockford after completing a four-year career at Ohio State. Good for him! I love it when guys grind away and keep believing in themselves and finally, at long last, get their shot.
  • Speaking of players the Blackhawks drafted who played college hockey… (like that transition?) I dropped our Monday morning three stars from the prospect ranks again this morning. Some of the Hawks’ recent picks are off to terrific starts to their NCAA seasons.
  • Jeremy Rutherford on Monday morning that the Blues expect to be without forward Pavel Buchnevich for a couple weeks because of an upper-body injury (see the hit below).
  • Finally, the Bears lost on Sunday. And Justin Fields got hurt. Now what?
  • written by

    Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the and is the author of three books about the Blackhawks: (Triumph Books),"100 Things Bꦇlackhawks Fans Should Knowꦑ & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagℱram/Threads at @📖The1Tab

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