December 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nWell, that\u2019s not exactly what happened in the second period of Thursday\u2019s 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, but Bedard\u2019s latest tally was a little more workmanlike. More Bertuzzi than Bedard, if you will. While Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi played catch in the opening seconds of a power play, Bedard slipped behind Kings defenseman Cody Ceci, perfectly timing his arrival with Bertuzzi\u2019s centering pass from the corner. Bedard banged the puck in, was promptly tripped by Warren Foegele and landed hard on his backside, wrapping himself around the post, for his efforts.<\/p>\n
It actually was pretty smooth \u2014 like a basketball player making a sneaky backdoor cut in the Princeton offense. But as Bedard said, any goal\u2019s a good goal. And the Blackhawks\u2019 20-year-old superstar can\u2019t stop scoring them.<\/p>\n
There are countless other aspects of the Blackhawks\u2019 game to discuss after this win. The way they never let up on offense and held onto a lead after sitting back and giving one up against Vegas. The way Spencer Knight keeps stringing together brilliant performances, making 26 saves. The way the penalty kill dominated the Kings power play, right down to a make-or-break Bedard penalty in the dying minutes of the third. The way Nazar\u2019s finding his game again. And we\u2019ll get to all that.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s getting impossible not to talk about what Bedard is doing. In his last 19 games, he has 16 goals and 16 assists \u2014 jaw-dropping, megastar numbers. Nineteen games, that\u2019s nearly a quarter of a season. This is no longer a hot streak, no longer a \u201cgood start.\u201d This is what Bedard is. Who Bedard is. And he\u2019s only getting better, even in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n
Later in the second period, he took the puck right off Trevor Moore\u2019s stick at the point and got a breakaway opportunity out of it. Early in the third, he sprawled out in the slot to break up a Corey Perry shot attempt. He\u2019s the Blackhawks\u2019 best player, and with all due respect to Knight\u2019s brilliance, the biggest reason they\u2019re in a playoff spot in December, something that was unthinkable entering the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously taken that big step this year to that next level,\u201d Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a good\u00a0start\u00a0to me; it is kind of what he is. We see it on a nightly basis. He does it different ways, gets opportunities different ways, and sets up a lot of guys, too. He could have more points, to be honest with you. It\u2019s just been a good maturation process.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n After impressing once again Thursday night, Bedard appears to be only getting better. (Jayne Kamin Oncea \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Maturation was the theme of the night, particularly with how quickly the Blackhawks got a chance to redeem themselves after fumbling away a late lead and losing in a shootout to the Golden Knights, dropping a game they felt they should have won. When Trevor Moore scored midway through the third period to cut Chicago\u2019s lead to 2-1, the Blackhawks didn\u2019t retreat into a shell and sit back on the lead, wishing away the final minutes of the game the way they did in Vegas. They went on the attack. They pressed the issue. They won the game instead of trying not to lose it.<\/p>\n
That was most evident in the way Nazar took an Oliver Moore chip in the neutral zone and turned on the afterburners, dashing at full speed to the net and drawing a tripping penalty on Mikey Anderson with 5:01 left in the game. It was anything but passive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to see some growth there,\u201d said defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, whose rare goal in the second period stood as the game-winner. \u201cAs the 60 minutes goes, even if they come down and get a chance, we\u2019re still pressing and pressing, not really taking our foot off the gas. It\u2019s a good step forward for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when Bedard was called for a ticky-tack hooking penalty \u2014 mere minutes after Nazar took Joel Armia waterskiing with a comical hook that went uncalled \u2014 the Blackhawks didn\u2019t sulk and didn\u2019t wilt. The Kings pulled goalie Darcy Kuemper for the extra attacker, and the Blackhawks killed off the 6-on-4 with a gritty effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good,\u201d Knight said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really important for us to be in those situations. Because that\u2019s just what good teams have to do and learn how to do. And I thought we really battled hard and a lot of guys made big plays in the end. Murph had a big block and Crevs just ate the puck the last few seconds, which was good. I think it feels good, too, when you get rewarded for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game observations<\/p>\n
1. Knight has been bailing out his teammates all season, as he leads the league in goals saved above expected (up to more than 23, per Evolving Hockey, after Thursday\u2019s effort). His teammates got to return the favor a few times against the Kings. Three times, Knight fumbled the puck behind the net, leaving the net wide open with several Kings in the vicinity. But all three times, the Blackhawks defenders collapsed on the net and somehow kept the puck out. It wasn\u2019t always pretty, but Kings games rarely are.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re great,\u201d Knight said of his teammates. \u201cLove playing with them. They\u2019re just really smart players. It\u2019s a young group that\u2019s just growing and it\u2019s really cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. Knight started to try to explain the reason for the Blackhawks\u2019 penalty-killing prowess, but then thought better of it, deferring to assistant coach Michael Peca and the skaters, whom he said could explain the structure better than he could. Chicago was 5-for-5 on the kill Thursday, and is now fourth in the league with an 85.3-percent kill rate. It starts with Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Dickinson, the top PK pair, but it seems like everyone Blashill throws out there succeeds.<\/p>\n
Nazar, one of those killers to whom Knight deferred, got very technical with his explanation.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust dawgs, really,\u201d he said. \u201cWe got some dawgs out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Nazar hasn\u2019t scored a goal since Oct. 28, and after he was denied on a quick breakaway early in the second period, it\u2019s fair to wonder if he\u2019ll ever score again. But with two assists, including a scrappy second-effort primary assist on Wyatt Kaiser\u2019s goal with five seconds to play in the second period, Nazar now has points in four straight games and eight assists in his last 10 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely helps, right?\u201d he said of the assists. \u201cNobody wants to score more than I do right now. The chances are there, just gotta keep going, keep trying to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to forget that Nazar is in his first full NHL season \u2014 like Rinzel, like Artyom Levshunov, like Ryan Greene, like Oliver Moore. In fact, Saturday\u2019s game will be his 82nd career NHL game, one full season. It\u2019s hardly uncommon for players to struggle with the grind of the season during the first full go-around. One of Blashill\u2019s big talking points this season has been about being able to win when you don\u2019t have your legs, when you don\u2019t have your A-game \u2014 to settle for a B-game, never a C-game. That comes with time and experience. It\u2019s OK if you\u2019re not always scoring. It\u2019s not OK if you\u2019re actively hurting your team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been up and down; it\u2019s been an ebb and flow to it,\u201d Blashill said of how Nazar and the other young players have handled the grind. \u201cFrankie\u2019s had like 80 games or something like that. He hasn\u2019t even completed a full season over the course of two years. I think (Kaiser) is at 100, he hasn\u2019t played a whole bunch of full seasons. And it\u2019s just a learned thing. How have I seen us do it? Some nights good, and some nights not. \u2026 It\u2019s part of the process with our guys, just continue to learn how to handle those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
4. Sam Rinzel played just 51 seconds \u2014 one shift \u2014 in the third period against the Golden Knights. But Blashill wasn\u2019t about to scratch the scuffling rookie and go back to a traditional 12-forward, six-defensemen lineup. Rinzel found himself stapled to the bench after a few defensive miscues against Vegas, but was back to his normal spot as the seventh defenseman against the Kings. It\u2019s a far cry from where he started the season \u2014 the presumptive No. 1 defenseman and top power-play quarterback \u2014\u00a0but Rinzel has been better since his healthy scratch on Nov. 15, with five assists in nine games, despite limited minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, he\u2019s played more good hockey than not,\u201d Blashill said. \u201cIt\u2019s just part of the process. When he\u2019s at his best, he\u2019s controlling the puck. It\u2019s learning how much time and space you have at this level. It\u2019s something (that) as he gets stronger, (it) will help him, too. He\u2019s still figuring some of that out. I just think body position defensively is a big one for him. When his body position\u2019s good defensively, you just ultimately don\u2019t give up as many easy chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rinzel played 13:13 on Friday, up four minutes from his career low against Vegas. The Kings had a 26-8 edge in shot attempts and a 12-3 edge in scoring chances with him on the ice.<\/p>\n
5. The Blackhawks will be right back at Crypto.com Arena for a practice Friday, then a return match against the Kings Saturday. Outside of the COVID-19 season, it\u2019s just the second time the Blackhawks have played back-to-back road games against the same team in more than a decade. Much like in a playoff series, it\u2019ll be interesting to see which teams make the best adjustments between Game 1 and Game 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in college for 11 years as a coach, and we did it almost every weekend,\u201d Blashill said. \u201cThey\u2019re unique. I actually love it. Certainly from a travel perspective, it\u2019s way better. You play your game and you\u2019re able to make those adjustments heading into the next game. And their staff is going to do the same thing, so it\u2019ll be a fun challenge, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n