Connor Bedard is back from his injury that had him sidelined for over a month.
Bedard suffered a broken jaw, but since his return, he’s played with confidence. Bedard had a three-point night in the Blackhawks’ 6-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, and he was involved in several talked-about incidents during the game.
Bedard has factored in six occasions of the seven goals Chicago has scored since he returned to the lineup.
If it wasn’t already obvious, it’s getting increasingly more apparent just how important he is to this Blackhawks team and how bright the future is for him.
Bedard had a spicy battle with goalie Spencer Martin during the game, exchanging shoves with him after a whistle and staring him down after scoring a goal that would later be overturned due to an offside challenge.
But earlier in the game, he also got destroyed by a hit as he tried to retrieve a puck.
Late in the first period, Bedard tried stealing the puck from Sebastian Aho. The Canes’ star isn’t known for his physicality, but as Bedard came close, he delivered a reverse hit that sent Bedard flying.
Bedard, just returning from jaw surgery, was quick to get up on his feet, but if Aho had laid the hit a bit higher, things could’ve gone much worse.
On social media, Bedard was slammed by fans for sustaining the hit.
”Bedard just seems too small to last in NHL,” one said on X, formerly Twitter.
”That kid will be rocked so many times,” another said.
”He need to be smarter if he gonna last long in the league,” a third added.
