In their second game of the season, the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Boston Bruins last night at TD Garden. In a passive showing, the Blackhawks fell to the Bruins 3-1. Here are five things to know about last night’s game.
1. Connor Bedard took our breath away twice
In only his second game, the hockey phenom scored a wraparound goal to put Chicago ahead of Boston with just under six minutes into the first period. Linemates Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato both picked up an assist. Even if for just a second, we saw what the next era of Blackhawks hockey is going to look like.
With a little under five minutes left in the third period, we saw Bedard going for another goal before getting tripped up by Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm’s stick. He went hard into the board, hitting his legs and back before wincing in pain. Bedard was slow to rise, but he kept playing. It’s likely that every Blackhawks fan in attendance and watching on TV didn’t take a breath until he was visibly okay.
Despite the scare, Chicago got to enjoy another entertaining display from Bedard. He made six shots on goal and had a better showing in the face-off dot, winning 6-of-12.
2. Hall is week-to-week
Hall left the game in the first minute of the second period after getting hit by Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo. He went back to the locker room, and the Blackhawks announced he wouldn’t be coming back. After the game, Luke Richardson told the media that Hall is now week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
3. Arvid Söderblom is good at hockey
This is going to be the first season we’ll consistently see Söderblom in net. If he’s able to perform the way he did in Boston, Söderblom and Petr Mrázek will make for an entertaining goalie tandem. With 30 saves on 32 shots, he kept the Blackhawks in the game while they still had a fighting chance.
4. Jason Dickinson can fight
Forward prospect Cole Guttman got boarded by Boston forward John Beecher, and Dickinson didn’t hesitate to step in. While it wasn’t a complete beat down, Dickinson won the fight and defended Guttman. He was given a five-minute penalty for fighting, two minutes for instigating, and a ten-minute misconduct which ended his night early. While the fight resulted in the Blackhawks only having 10 forwards left through most of the third period, it showed that nobody is allowed to mess with the rookies.
5. Lukas Reichel should play on Bedard’s line
After Hall left the game with his upper-body injury, we saw Andreas Athanasiou on the wing for Bedard’s line and the top powerplay unit. We also got to see Reichel on the other side for a few shifts, which led to a scoring chance. With Hall gone, there’s an empty space to fill on the top line, and playing with Bedard could be the spark Reichel needs to start his season.
