There were some on the interwebs and the social medias that told us a couple short weeks ago that Connor Bedard was broken. That he was a bust. That the Blackhawks were going to ruin him. And then he started to pick up a point here and there. And then we looked up and Bedard was suddenly up to 26 points in 31 games. In his last ten games dating back to the win over Dallas the day before Thanksgiving, Bedard has 4 goals and 7 assists. During that ten-game stretch he has as many multi-point games as he does games without a point (three each). And he has been credited with 22 shots on goal in those ten games.
Connor Bedard with the go-ahead goal pic.twitter.com/g6pC6vQp1d
Connor keeps climbing ? pic.twitter.com/SRK66gEZvl
— NHL (@NHL) December 15, 2024 After getting dominated at the dot on Thursday night at the Islanders, the Blackhawks were slightly better last night by the end of the game (Chicago won 22 of 50 – 44 percent). A big reason they were better was Jason Dickinson, who took 22 of the 50 faceoffs in the game and won half of his draws. Dickinson won 8 of 15 at even strength. He got off to a slow start at the dot but was fantastic in the third period. And his line dominated puck possession; both Teuvo Teravainen and Ilya Mikheyev scored goals and they were on the ice for six Blackhawks’ shots on net at 5-on-5. The Hawks had 23 total shots in the game. I know Nick Foligno was out of the lineup sick last night and will be back in as soon as he’s well, but I would really like to see if that Teravainen-Dickinson-Mikheyev line can get some juice like the line of Maroon-Reichel-Smith has had since they were put together. Maybe Foligno can make a step back up and give a still struggling Philipp Kurashev a break on the top line? Here’s a note that Scott Powers wrote about Kurashev after the game last night:Sorensen has been hopeful Kurashev would turn his game around and has been putting him with Bedard, but you have to wonder if that will come to an end. With Kurashev on the ice for those two goals against in five-on-five play on Sunday, the Blackhawks have been outscored 23-3 with him on the ice. Kurashev also has zero goals and one assist in his last 10 games.
I pointed this out in my postgame notes, but his two assists last night means Alex Vlasic tied his career high with 16 points this season. Since Seth Jones left the lineup on Nov. 14, Vlasic is averaging 24:16 per games — which ranks 20th among all NHL skaters. He has six power play points in those 14 games, which is tied for fifth among all NHL defensemen. By the way, he’s 23 years old. I asked Teravainen, Vlasic and interim head coach Anders Sorensen about how impressive it was that Arvid Soderblom came back after getting yanked from the loss at the Islanders on Thursday night to have a really strong performance last night against the same team. He stopped 30 of 33 in the win — a win he deserved after having losses pile up against him in games in which he played well. His teammates and coach were all tremendously impressed with how he played. Here’s what Sorensen said about his goaltender’s performance:Mentally he???s tough. He???s gone through a lot and that was probably the one thing we talked about in the room, like, hey we felt good about how he usually responds. So, really good.
Nick Lardis scored twice last night for Brantford. His 28 goals currently rank second in the OHL, his 10 power play goals rank third, his five game-winning goals are tied for second and his 50 points rank fifth in the league. As I’ve said before, Lardis is having the best post-draft offensive season for a Blackhawks prospects in the CHL since Alex DeBrincat’s ridiculous 2016-17 season (65 goals, 127 points in 63 games). It’s an absolute shame that he isn’t playing for Canada at the World Juniors.Lardis rips it to make it 2-0!??#BFD | #Blackhawks | #OHL pic.twitter.com/saWZD2uQoq
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) December 15, 2024 Alex Pharand had an assist for Sudbury last night. He now has 15 goals and 17 assists in 28 games in the OHL this season. His career highs are 18 goals and 21 assists, which he produced in 67 games during the 2022-23 season before he was selected in the fourth round (No. 99 overall) by the Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft. I was disappointed he wasn’t able to participate in the prospect games or training camp this fall. He has good size and plays center and on the wing. Jack Pridham scored another goal for Kitchener last night. He now has eight goals and seven assists in 12 games since making the jump to the OHL.Sunday afternoon ? from #Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham for @OHLRangers pic.twitter.com/WTfe8Mkhzw
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) December 16, 2024MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION:??Check Out BN Fantasy??|??Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
The Bears were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday. And they didn’t even play. Are the Cubs getting closer to a deal for pitcher Jesus Luzardo? We have heard what the Bulls would reportedly want in a trade for center Nikola Vucevic. Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Bedard is So Back, Third Line Mojo, Really Good Vlasic, Lardis Stays Hot, and Other Blackhawks Bullets )
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