10 observations: Blackhawks rally to beat Penguins in Connor Bedard’s NHL debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Blackhawks rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday in the regular-season opener.
Here are 10 observations from the win:
1. Connor Bedard made his anticipated NHL debut. I thought he was a little fumbly with the puck in the first period, but he was certainly noticeable. He registered seven shot attempts in the opening frame alone and finished with game-high 11 attempts (five on goal).
It didn’t look like he tried forcing anything. He played his game. He was rewarded with his first career NHL point after picking up a secondary assist on Ryan Donato’s goal in the second period that trimmed Chicago’s deficit to 2-1 and started the comeback.
2. Bedard took the opening faceoff against his childhood idol Sidney Crosby on Opening Night. I imagine he and his family are going to have a picture of that framed at some point. Bedard lost the draw cleanly to Crosby, but the memory still stands.
3. Petr Mrazek was absolutely fantastic in this game. He kept the Blackhawks in it all night and made a handful of big-time stops. He deserved two points and got it. Easily the first star of the game.
4. Jason Dickinson made a rough neutral zone turnover late in the third period of a 2-2 game that could’ve been disastrous. Later in that shift, he was gifted with the game-winning goal after Corey Perry’s shot was blocked and fell right into Dickinson’s lap, and he made no mistake. Crazy swing to complete the two-goal comeback.
5. Lukas Reichel’s line with Tyler Johnson and Taylor Raddysh was chasing the puck for most of the first period. They got much better after that. I liked that trio in the second and third periods.
6. What a terrific job by Seth Jones on Cole Guttman’s goal to sell the shot and then wait for the perfect time to pass it over to Guttman, who was open in the slot and fired one past Tristan Jarry for the game-tying goal in the third period. That was pretty.
7. Kevin Korchinski making his NHL debut flew under the radar to some degree because of Bedard. I thought he looked good. There was one particular play in the second period where he should have shot the puck, but instead he passed it. He’ll learn.
8. The Penguins had their way with the Blackhawks in the faceoff circle. Bedard lost his first eight draws and didn’t win his first one until the opening faceoff of the third period. The faceoff dot is not going to be an area of strength for Chicago this season after losing Jonathan Toews.
9. There was buzz on the Pittsburgh side, too, because it was the official start of the Kyle Dubas era and Erik Karlsson’s first game with the Penguins. I was curious to see how Karlsson would be deployed, considering Kris Letang is still there too. I think it’s going to work. I have Pittsburgh in the playoffs this season.
10. Philipp Kurashev is beginning the season on injured reserve because of a left wrist injury. He isn’t expected to play on the five-game road trip, and didn’t even travel with the team to Pittsburgh. Colin Blackwell (lower body), Colton Dach (right ankle), Luke Philp (right Achilles tendon) and Sam Savoie (right femur) all started the season on injured/non-roster designation.
Click here to follow the Blackhawks Talk Podcast.
