Where are the Traveling Wilburys when we want to talk about (in a good way, sorry … your version might be more appropriate for the Oilers this morning). The Chicago Blackhawks invaded Amalie Arena and got off to a less than ideal start before boom goes the Bedard and we’re now waking up with a 5-3 win in the rearview mirror.
We knew coming into this season that Connor Bedard was going to be special, but we were also tempering our expectations (well, some of us) because he’s 18 and a rookie and all that comes with a learning curve. After last night’s game, head coach Luke Richardson said “He’s been here for a dozen games now, he’s starting to really figure it out.” To which I immediately extended thoughts and prayers to the rest of the National Hockey League because my oh my did he ever put on a show last night. Four points, two goals — career firsts for multi-goal and multi-point efforts — and showtime move after showtime move. If that’s “figuring it out” good luck playing him at Christmas or after the All-Star Game.
I say all of this with the caveat that we should still temper our expectations and still expect there to be learning moments and ups and downs. Last night might be a big peak on the stat sheet for him thus far, but there will probably still be some valleys along the way. But whe💃n you see a performance like last night, you just ha𝓰ve to sit back and smile and enjoy that Bedard is a Blackhawk.
Oh, and about the whole “who will be the next captain?” questions that some people still have? His responses on the postgame interview with NBC Sports Chicago are pretty much your answer. When he’s ready, he’ll have the C.
I mean… look at this. Seriously. He’s 18 folks… this was his 12th game in the NHL. Against a really good team. On the road.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Tyler Johnson. Congrats on checking an impressive career box last night!
There is cause for some concern after last night’s exciting win because of injuries to three guys. After the game, Richardson didn’t have much to add on Jarred Tinordi, Andreas Athanasiou or Taylor Hall. He did note they would take today off and had two days to get their act together and see how people were feeling before a mid-day game on the other side of Florida. Regarding Hall’s injury, which didn’t look good (right knee): “It didn’t look great on the ice but he looked better in the dressing room,” . “But we’ll see.” (You can see Hall in the video handing the chain to Bedard after the game in the tweet earlier.)
The Blackhawks have Nikita Zaitsev available if Tinordi can’t go on Sunday afternoon against the Panthers. And he scored a goal against the Panthers at the United Center last weekend. So maybe he’ll draw in regardless.
Up front, if Double-A and Hall can’t go on Sunday the Blackhawks do have Boris Katchouk and Reese Johnson available. But that’s going to complicate the lineup significantly. Athanasiou was supposed to be the second-line center now and Hall was playing on the third line. Corey Perry moving back to the third line is a good fit, albeit he plays the opposite side of Hall. The question for me is what the Blackhawks do at center. Jason Dickinson has moved up to the second line with Lukas Reichel before this season, so that could work. And one of Ryan Donato or Tyler Johnson could center the third line. My hope is that the Blackhawks have at least one of the three available on Sunday.
The schedule might do them a favor with another long layoff before facing… yeah, Tampa on Thursday again next week. So they might have enough extra bodies to make due through the weekend and then evaluate if they need to bring someone up when they get home.
If the Blackhawks do see a need to recall someone, Joey Anderson might be line for some NHL run. He has 12 points in 8 games for the IceHogs right now and plays a fast game. I wouldn’t mind a line of Tyler-Donato-Anderson for a game to see how that plays. But, again, the preference is that Athanasiou and Hall are available for the lineup.
Remember how unhappy Bedard looked in the photo with the puck from his first NHL goal because the Blackhawks lost the game? Yeah, not so much with Kevin Korchinski after putting his first goal on the board last night. He was obviously thrilled.
The Blackhawks might be 5-7-0 right now but those five wins are pretty impressive. If they can string together a few performances like we saw last night and against the Panthers last weekend…
I love that the Blackhawks make this a full moms’ trip. That includes the broadcast booth, where both Chris Vosters and Caley Chelios had mom on board for the night. It was funny to me that Caley said last night on the broadcast that nobody could ever get her mom to wear a Chelios jersey before.
This is a terrific piece from Ben Pope looking at the Sharks’ tank (pun intended?) and how the Blackhawks have turned a corner in many ways this season. Of course the Sharks have now won two in a row and beat the Oilers last night, so maybe things aren’t that bad in San Jose? (They are, but the Oilers are a legit tire fire right now.)
Where will Patrick Kane skate this season? It’s November, so that decision might come soon. We looked at a few updates on the situation and some suggested landing spots yesterday.
If you’re looking for some hockey to watch on the two nights between now and the Hawks taking the ice in Sunrise on Sunday, perhaps I can interest you in Frank Nazar vs. Oliver Moore (and Sam Rinzel)?
Finally, the Bears tanked last year and also owned the No. 1 overall pick — briefly. But a trade with Carolina may end up giving them both DJ Moore and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Last night’s win may prove to go a long way in securing that pick.
