Entering Friday, Connor Bedard needed a big game and the Blackhawks needed a hero.
Both the individual and the team got what they needed in a 4-3 overtime victory against Utah. Three minutes into the extra session, Bedard circled around the net, found space in the slot and ripped in his first goal since Feb. 7 to give the Hawks their first overtime win since Nov. 10.
“This was the longest [drought] of his really young career so far, and I thought he handled it really well,” interim coach Anders Sorensen said. “He didn’t get frustrated and stuck with what he believes works, which he’s been doing. And today he got rewarded for it.”
In the second period, Bedard hit the crossbar but stuck with the play and set up a Wyatt Kaiser goal seconds later to earn his first point since the international break.
It was by far his most confident, assertive and impactful performance in a while. He recorded nine shot attempts, including five on goal.
“Obviously points aren’t everything, but [when] you can see a couple go your way, it feels good,” Bedard said. “It’s my job to create offense and produce, and I had a stretch there where I wasn’t. It’s just one game, but it’s good to have that.”
Utah rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to force overtime, but Sorensen nonetheless praised his team — which improved to 3-0-1 in its last four games — for bringing “longer stretches” of consistent play recently.
Victorious Knight
New Hawks goalie Spencer Knight was 11 years old when Petr Mrazek made his NHL debut in February 2013, so Knight feels as though he almost grew up watching him.
The fact Knight has replaced Mrazek as the Hawks’ starter demonstrates just how long the latter has been around. And before Mrazek’s trade Friday to the Red Wings, he spent his last few days in Chicago helping Knight get acclimated.
“Sitting between [Arvid Soderblom] and Petr has been awesome,” Knight said Thursday. “[Soderblom] is closer to my age, and Petr has been around the league for a while, so he knows all the ins and outs. It’s been good to have those guys in your corner, just helping you.”
Knight, now 23, improved to 2-0-0 on the Hawks on Friday, saving 36 of 39 shots.
After allowing a goal to former Hawks forward Nick Schmaltz on the first shot he faced, Knight robbed Schmaltz with his glove on the goal line later in the first period and settled in after that. His technical prowess continues to stand out.
“[It’s] impressive how dynamic he is down low, how explosive he is and how quickly he gets his pads down,” Sorensen said.
Notes
The Hawks hadn’t converted a penalty shot since October 2022 — and no Hawks rookie had done so ever — until Frank Nazar did so in the second period Friday.
Nick Foligno (back) and Philipp Kurashev (hand) returned from injuries, and fellow forward Jason Dickinson (ankle) might return from his on the trip.
Forward Colton Dach and defenseman Ethan Del Mastro were made eligible for the AHL playoffs, although they remain in the Hawks’ lineup for now. That burned two of the Hawks’ four allotted post-deadline AHL call-ups, but signing college prospects doesn’t count against that number.
