BOSTON — Mark the time for the annals: Game 2, first period and 5 minutes, 37 seconds off the clock.
Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard scored his first NHL goal.
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft tucked a wraparound goal against Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark to strike first for the Hawks on Wednesday at TD Garden. Bedard’s goal was the only one for Chicago as the Hawks lost to the Bruins, 3-1.
But it marked a new day for the Hawks.
The next great hope in the lineage of Patrick Kane, Denis Savard and Bobby Hull ticked off the first of what likely will be many goals.
At 18 years and 86 days old, Bedard became the third-youngest player in franchise history to record his first goal behind Grant Mulvey (18 years, 32 days on Oct. 19, 1974) and Eddie Olczyk (18 years, 56 days on Oct. 11, 1984).
Bedard recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in the opener Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While only time will tell how meaningful Bedard’s first scorewill be in the grand scheme of the team’s rebuild, one can still appreciate the beauty of the goal.
It started with Kevin Korchinski’s pass through the neutral zone that ended up on Bedard’s stick.
Bedard got Jakub Lauko to turn his body on a backhand pass to Ryan Donato — reminiscent of the no-look backhander Bedard pulled against the Penguins’ Erik Karlsson in the opener — and Donato handed it back to him.
Ullmark saved Bedard’s first shot from the glove side, but the puck bounced back to Bedard.
While four Bruins defenders and Ullmark converged on that spot, looking for the puck, Bedard swung around the back of the net and slammed in the puck just before Ullmark could shift back.
Bedard pumped his fist and let out a shout in celebration.
Jarred Tinordi was the first to hug him, then Taylor Hall, Donato and other teammates rushed in. Hall and Donato were credited with the assists.
Hall gave Bedard a few jabs in the shoulder and Tinordi gave him one in the back, and Bedard adjusted his helmet as he skated off with a big smile.
