The Blackhawks are undefeated without center Connor Bedard this season.
Missing their star rookie and a large group of other key players because of injury — totaling eight forwards and one defenseman — the Hawks’ ragtag remaining roster rallied to earn one of the more unlikely victories of the season Sunday, beating the Flames 4-3 at the United Center.
‘‘No one’s going to be able to step out and play like Connor Bedard,’’ defenseman Connor Murphy said. ‘‘Everyone has to play to their strengths and how they can and realize that . . . you’re still going to have a chance to win.’’
The Hawks had only 11 forwards available, dressing Isaak Phillips as a seventh defenseman instead, and deployed Colin Blackwell, Philipp Kurashev and Jason Dickinson as their top forward line.
But Blackwell ended up fueling the teamwide effort with three points. He opened the scoring with a perfectly placed shot in the first period, then added a power-play goal with 5:23 left that briefly extended the Hawks’ lead and went down as the game-winner.
‘‘[Colin] has been unbelievable since he’s been back,’’ coach Luke Richardson said. ‘‘It’s all pure desire by him. He’s a heart-and-soul type of player.’’
Forward Zach Sanford, claimed off waivers Saturday, slotted into the second power-play unit despite no familiarity with the Hawks’ systems and had an assist.
Typical depth defensemen Nikita Zaitsev and Jarred Tinordi enjoyed multipoint games. De facto rookie defenseman Alex Vlasic led the team in ice time and survived a late injury scare to help goalie Petr Mrazek close out the game.
‘‘A lot of young guys did some things that they’re not necessarily known to do — blocking shots and then also [making] huge plays,’’ Blackwell said.
It was a brutal loss for the Flames, who sit on the fringe of both the playoff bubble and an imminent rebuild, and a much-needed victory for the Hawks, if only to revive morale. Despite losing 14 consecutive road games, they’re now 7-4-1 in their last 12 games at home.
