Connor Bedard Still Finding His Stride as Blackhawks Fall to Panthers
CHICAGO - For a few flashes on Sunday night, Connor Bedard looked like the player who lit up the NHL in the first half of the season. The swagger, the speed, the shot - it was all there in moments. But in a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, those glimpses were just that: glimpses.
In the first period, Bedard picked a Panther clean in the neutral zone and turned it into a dangerous entry, setting up Connor Murphy with a quality look. Later, he uncorked a blistering wrist shot that nearly beat Daniel Tarasov, and he followed that up with a burst off the wall that gave him a step on his defender - only to be denied on a five-hole attempt. The chances were there, the execution just not quite.
That’s been the story for Bedard since returning from his shoulder injury. In the eight games since he came back, he’s shown flashes, but hasn’t quite recaptured the pre-injury magic.
And before that Dec. 12 setback, he wasn’t just good - he was playing like one of the best in the league. Five goals and six assists in his final seven games before the injury had him in early Olympic conversations and even earning whispers as a dark horse Hart Trophy candidate.
When he was on the ice, the Blackhawks had a chance to score. Simple as that.
Since returning, the production has slowed. Aside from a two-assist night in a 3-0 win over Nashville on Jan.
10, Bedard has just one goal and one assist in the other seven games - and the goal came on an empty net. At five-on-five, he’s got zero goals and two assists in that stretch.
Sunday’s performance was a step forward from Friday’s outing against Tampa Bay, where Bedard didn’t register a single shot on goal - just the second time all season that’s happened. Against Florida, he put three on net, each a legitimate scoring chance.
So what’s holding him back?
Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill sees it as a mix of rust and rhythm.
“I think he’d be the first to tell you, since he’s been back, there have been moments when he’s going good and moments where he hasn’t,” Blashill said. “That’s the ebb and flow of the season.
You’re out a long time, and it’s hard to get your mojo back sometimes. He’s just working his mojo back.”
Part of the challenge has been the constant line shuffling. On Friday, Bedard opened with Tyler Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev.
Sunday, it was Oliver Moore and André Burakovsky. And throughout both games, the combinations kept changing.
Nothing has really stuck.
“We’ve got to play with the lines,” Blashill admitted. “Maybe that’s hurt him, not having consistency there.
Sometimes you’re trying to help spark guys and you end up hurting them by making too many changes. But again, you can’t fault the work ethic, can’t fault the care.
It just hasn’t gone the way that it had prior to him getting hurt.”
Captain Nick Foligno echoed that sentiment, pointing to a lack of predictability in the team’s play - something that was more consistent when Bedard was sidelined.
“We need to be a little bit more predictable,” Foligno said. “When he was out, that’s what our bread and butter was.
We were a little more lunchpail. He’s going to find his way through that, but I think we haven’t been as predictable.
It makes it tough. He’s a guy that’s keyed on in a lot of games, so he’s trying to find his way through it, but we can help as a team by being a little more predictable.”
The Blackhawks need Bedard to find that rhythm again - and soon. With a razor-thin margin for error and an offense that’s sputtered to two goals or fewer in seven of their last nine games (going 3-5-1 in that stretch), they can’t afford for their most dynamic weapon to be anything less than fully operational.
Third Period Collapse Sinks Hawks
Sunday’s game was right there for the taking after two periods. The Blackhawks hadn’t dominated, but they hadn’t been overwhelmed either. It was 1-1 heading into the third, and the game felt like it could go either way.
Then came the unraveling.
Florida scored four times in the final frame - including an empty-netter - and turned a tight contest into a lopsided final score. It was a frustrating finish for a team that’s actually been solid in third periods recently.
“Our thirds have actually been our better periods,” Foligno said. “Especially against a team that just played a tough schedule, they get in real late and all the excuses, we’ve just got to find a way to get that job done. That’s the hard part: tonight was one of those games where you feel like you beat yourself.”
The breakdowns were uncharacteristic. The Panthers’ second goal, for example, stemmed from a missed pass by defenseman Artyom Levshunov.
It was a routine exit play that went awry - a short pass to Burakovsky that didn’t connect. Florida capitalized.
“Certainly there are moments where he passes it great and moments where we miss,” Blashill said of Levshunov. “Sometimes when he has a lot of time, he has to keep that focus. It’s almost like when you’re under pressure, you’re forced to be lasered in, and sometimes when he has time, maybe we have to make sure that focus is lasered in.”
It wasn’t just the pass. The Hawks lost the ensuing puck battle on the wall - a second mistake that compounded the first.
“Those are two big mistakes,” Blashill said. “You make the one mistake, you have the puck on your stick, it’s a pass, we can’t go tape to tape, then you have a second mistake and you lose the battle on the wall. That’s what I’m talking about - self-inflicted.”
Bright Spot: Bertuzzi Hits 25
Tyler Bertuzzi provided the lone goal for Chicago - his 25th of the season - and it came off a slick sequence. Wyatt Kaiser showed great awareness at the blue line, snatching a puck out of the air, settling it, and maneuvering around a defender before finding Mikheyev across the ice. Mikheyev then threaded the puck to Bertuzzi, who finished at the net front.
It was one of the few moments the Blackhawks broke through Florida’s defensive structure, and it was a reminder of what this group can do when they’re sharp and connected.
A Moment for Troy Murray
In a touching moment during the game, fans at the United Center gave longtime Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray a standing ovation as the team honored him during their Hockey Fights Cancer night. Murray, who’s been battling cancer and hasn’t been able to call games this season, received a well-deserved tribute from a fanbase that deeply appreciates his voice and presence.
The Blackhawks are still trying to find their footing, and Bedard’s return to form could be the spark they need. The talent is undeniable.
The moments are still there. Now it’s about stringing them together - not just for Bedard, but for a team that needs every edge it can find.