Connor Bedard falls deeper into slump in Blackhawks' loss to Canucks
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Connor Bedard's slump deepened to a new level Saturday.
In his much-anticipated homecoming game, the teenage Blackhawks star's most — and really only — memorable play was a whiffed dump-in attempt at the red line that led to a game-sealing empty-net goal seconds later.
The Canucks added another meaningless empty-netter shortly after to seal a 4-1 win, marking their ninth consecutive victory over the Hawks and their 12th in the two teams' last 13 meetings dating back to 2020.
Bedard could only drop and shake his head after the whiff, his confidence having seemingly hit its lowest point in his NHL career to date in the very arena where he grew up dreaming of playing.
"That’s just a little bit of salt in the wound...but I saw the guys patting him on the back," coach Luke Richardson said. "He’s maybe holding onto the puck a little too long and looking for something better. We try to encourage him to shoot the puck. He’s an elusive shooter. If we can get him skating and shooting the puck on the fly, I think that’s when he’s the most dangerous."
The Hawks' offense is as dry as the Canadian prairies right now; they've scored just one regulation goal in five consecutive games. It was Ilya Mikheyev, celebrating his own less-notable Vancouver homecoming after getting traded from the Canucks to the Hawks last summer, who scored that lone goal Saturday off a Nick Foligno rebound.
That marker gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead after a well-played first period, but their game disintegrated following the intermission. The Canucks tied the game on an Elias Pettersson goal during a second period in which they outshot the Hawks 14-7, then claimed the lead for good on an Erik Brannstrom goal with 15:35 to play.
Bedard was credited with just two shot attempts, one on goal, in 16:48 of ice time. His goal drought extended to nine consecutive games and his point drought to three consecutive games.
The Canucks mostly matched up Pettersson against him, and during Pettersson and Bedard's ice time together, the Canucks generated a whopping 16-1 advantage in shot attempts (and 7-0 edge in shots on goal).
Bedard's defensive acumen has improved significantly, meaning he hasn't been nearly as much of an overall liability; he has only been outscored 10-9 during five-on-five play so far this season, compared to 67-37 last season. Still, the Hawks have no chance of generating enough offense to survive when he's this cold.
"I think our quality scoring chances were up tonight," Richardson said. "Unfortunately, [we] just can’t find the back of the net. [There's a] lack of drawing penalties, too."
In Seth Jones' injury absence, Connor Murphy led the team with 25:04 of ice time, followed closely by Alex Vlasic — who had an unusually inconsistent night — at 23:33.
"It's getting frustrating," Vlasic said. "It's pretty tiring to rely on one goal to win against a good team."