10 observations: Connor Bedard sets up overtime winner in Blackhawks’ preseason opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks knocked off the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in overtime at the United Center on Thursday in their preseason opener.
Here are 10 observations from the win:
1. Connor Bedard made his NHL preseason debut, and it didn’t take him very long to settle into the game after he almost scored a highlight-reel goal in just his second shift. His stat line was ho-hum: Nine shot attempts (five on goal), won 10 of 16 faceoffs, logged 21:42 of ice time and recorded two primary assists, which included a beautiful setup to Andreas Athanasiou in overtime.
“It was good,” Bedard said of his debut. “It was a lot of fun to get out there. Really cool moment going on the first time, obviously the anthem and everything.”
2. Bedard’s highlight package for the game deserves its own bullet point. It was funny to hear him after the win say ‘I think I can do a lot better’ because it’s actually true. But even his B game is really good.
3.Petr Mrazek played the first half of the game. He faced only eight shots and stopped all of them. Drew Commesso played the second half, and he got a little more action. He made a few high-quality saves on Pavel Buchnevich, most notably. Commesso finished with 16 saves on 17 shots for a save percentage of .941. I’m intrigued by his long-term upside.
4. Wyatt Kaiser skated on the top pairing with Seth Jones like he has all training camp, and he continues to impress. He tied a game-high with five shots on goal, and his skating ability was on display. His spot on the Opening Night roster is looking good as of right now.
5. Lukas Reichel lost six of the seven faceoffs he took. He is talented and will make an impact for the Blackhawks this season offensively, but his faceoff work will likely be a work in progress all season long.
“I think he has to work on his face-offs a little bit,” Blackhawks head coach Lukas Reichel said. “He has to get stronger in there, a little more bulldoggish, get low. Guys like Reese Johnson, did a great job in the circle. He has to get down there and learn from that and practice with those guys in practice. It’s important, as an offensive line I put them out there for O-zone face-offs and icings and stuff. He really needs to work on that part of his game.”
6. Marcel Marcel, Chicago’s fifth-round pick from June, was all over the scoresheet. He had three hits, two takeaways, one shot on goal and one blocked shot. He had a shift in the third period that really stood out.
“He had a great D-zone knocked down with his stick, and that’s exactly how we do our system when we build a wall there,” Richardson said. “And he went down the other end and made a play on the line rush and got a big hit behind the net, got a cheer from the crowd, I think they seem to like the big guy moving around.”
7. Blackhawks second-round pickMartin Misiak left the game for a bit in the second period after taking a big hit from Hunter Skinner. He returned later in the period, which was an encouraging sign. I thought he looked good when he was out there. He won all four of his faceoffs in the first period.
8. When Blues defenseman Hunter Skinner leveled Misiak, his linemates Nick Foligno and Corey Perry immediately came to his defense. Those two veterans have been around long enough to know how important sticking up for your teammates are, and I’m sure it resonated with the young guys that they did it for a recent draft pick.
“They’re there before almost it even happens,” Richardson said. “That’s just their nature. They’re teammates and they know how to look after teammates. That shows the younger guys.”
9. Quote of the night comes from Bedard when asked about trying to stay out on the ice a little longer for shifts: “I like hockey. I want to be on the ice, I tried to circle the faceoff dot a little bit. But I play 3-on-3 probably five, six days a week with everyone back home, so it’s probably the most fun thing in my life. Yeah, I didn’t want to get off.”
10. After the game, the Blackhawks assigned forwards Nick Lardis, Martin Misiak and Alex Pharand to their respective junior clubs. They sent Jiri Felcman back a few days ago, as well. The training camp roster is now at 51 players.
