Connor Bedard ended a seven-game point drought on Friday as his game-winning goal capped a two-point night for the Chicago Blackhawks star in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club.
Bedard atoned for his third-period penalty that allowed Utah to tie the game. He skated around the net with the puck, and the 19-year-old ripped a wrister from the high slot to beat Karel Vejmelka for his second overtime goal in his young career.
Last year’s Calder Trophy winner for top rookie also had an assist as Chicago extended its points streak to four games (3-0-1). Wyatt Kaiser, Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar all scored in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Spencer Knight stopped 36 Utah shots to win his second start since being traded by the Florida Panthers last week.
Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist to register points for the eighth time in nine games for Utah. Nick Schmaltz scored, and John Marino got his first goal in a Utah sweater. Mikhail Sergachev assisted on a pair of goals, while Vejmelka posted 21 saves.
Utah jumped out early thanks to Schmaltz being the first skater to get to a loose puck in the slot. The forward’s 14th goal of the season gave Utah the lead just 56 seconds into the game.
Chicago’s first three goals came in a span of just more than five minutes. Bedard had a shot ring off the post, and he chased the puck and found Kaiser in the high slot with 10:37 left in the second period.
A takeaway by Ryan Donato just over two minutes later led to Mikheyev putting Chicago ahead with 7:10 to go in the period.
Nazar drew a holding penalty on Sergachev during a breakaway to earn a penalty shot with 5:30 remaining. He became the first Blackhawks rookie to score one, and it was the team’s first successful penalty shot since Andreas Athanasiou scored against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 10, 2022.
Marino trimmed the deficit on a shot from the point through traffic with 14:56 remaining in regulation, and after Bedard went to the penalty box for tripping, Keller tied it from the left faceoff circle with 7:44 left.
–Field Level Media
