Maybe someday, a young prodigy’s first game against Connor Bedard will be a story, with reporters asking the new phenom how he’ll feel about facing one of the best of an earlier generation.
For now, Bedard is the young prodigy, and in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to the Capitals on Sunday, the superstar veteran he opposed for the first time was Caps captain Alex Ovechkin. On Tuesday, Bedard will line up against players a little closer to his age: the Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
“Just growing up and watching him, it was always him and [Sidney] Crosby battling,” Bedard said. “And, of course, McDavid, what he’s done in the last eight years is obviously remarkable. He’s going to go down as one of the best players ever. Him and Draisaitl, of course it’s pretty exciting.”
Unlike those two, Bedard and Ovechkin aren’t in their prime. Bedard did have a pair of assists Sunday, including when his backhanded, cross-ice pass through the slot found defenseman Connor Murphy to cut the Hawks’ deficit to 4-2 with 1:42 left. He also had the secondary assist on Philipp Kurashev’s goal in the second period that gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
However, winger Anthony Mantha beat Bedard down the ice for the Capitals’ second-period equalizer. And Bedard hasn’t scored a goal of his own since Dec. 2 as he navigates his rookie season. Mantha’s goal was a lesson in the importance of shift length, as Bedard and fellow rookie Alex Vlasic stayed out for too long and were caught in the wrong places on the ice.
“A bigger guy just got his arm in front of [Bedard] and kind of got ahead of him,” Hawks coach Luke Richardson said.
Ovechkin is at the other end of his career. In his visit to the United Center last December, he had a hat trick to reach 800 career goals. This time, he had an assist but stayed stuck on five goals through 25 games.
Whether it’s against a star in his twilight such as Ovechkin or against dominant, modern-day forces such as McDavid and Draisaitl, Bedard doesn’t take the chance to play them for granted.
“Once you’re playing the game, it’s hockey, and you can’t really be thinking about it too much,” Bedard said. “But before the game and going into a faceoff or something, it’s definitely pretty special. I feel pretty fortunate for those opportunities.”
The Hawks had an opportunity to win their third straight game but couldn’t overcome three goals in the second. Murphy bemoaned that the Hawks weren’t sharp dealing with the Capitals’ rushes, and that they lost emotion as the night wore on.
“[They] controlled the first shift of the second, they got physical a little bit, and we didn’t seem to give the same response,” Murphy said.
The Hawks still finished an encouraging 2-1-1 homestand before their swing through Edmonton and Seattle. Winger Nick Foligno thought their identity came out more over the last four games, although he was disappointed not to beat a team that played Saturday and had to travel Sunday.
“Still a long ways to go, but we can rally around the fact that our game is starting to come, and we’re seeing it more and more,” Foligno said. “Especially on the road now, in two tough buildings, we’re going to have to make sure it’s there more than ever.”
