As expected, Connor Bedard took no time to make his presence felt at the highest level. The Chicago Blackhawks youngster opened his account with a surprising 4-2 win over the Penguins on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
In his first regular season game in the National Hockey League (NHL), Bedard met the man he has long been compared to: Sidney Crosby. The two centers were sent to the first throw-in, and for those curious, it was the Pens captain who easily won.
The first overall pick in the last draft stepped up his efforts in the first half of the game. The Blackhawks were more dangerous when #98 was on the ice and his hard work finally paid off.
Late in the second period, Chicago took control of the offensive zone and Bedard finally had the puck. He gave it to Alex Vlasic, who tried to surprise Tristan Jarry between the pads. Ryan Donato stood in front of the goalie and retrieved the puck, sending it into a gaping cage.
“I feel good. I’ve wanted to do this my whole life. After our line allowed a goal, we really wanted to respond,” Bedard told Sportsnet between the two meetings.
Chicago scored four straight goals, including three in the final period, to secure the victory. Cole Guttman, Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno (empty net) shook the ropes. Corey Perry had two assists.
Not everything is easy
Apparently the 18-year-old was closely monitored and received several blows to the shoulder. He himself was stubborn towards the puck carrier.
“You have to be quick and ready to make contact at any time,” analyzed Bedard. The game goes so fast. So if you’re not ready and you’re not moving the puck fast enough, it’s going to be difficult.
The face-off situation was more complicated for him: he only won 15.4% of his duels against customers like Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He was also the Hawks’ most used forward, spending 21:29 of ice time.
Speaking of Crosby, he was one of Pittsburgh’s two goal scorers.
Bryan Rust broke the ice in the first period. His precise wrist shot from a difficult angle surprised Petr Mrazek in the top half. This is the third time in a row that the attacker has found the net in an opening game.
Bedard will have very little time to recover from his emotions as the Blackhawks face the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.