Blackhawks fall to Oilers after stomach bug knocks out Connor Bedard

Just when it seemed like the spread of the Blackhawks' stomach bug had stopped, it claimed a new victim in Connor Bedard on Monday afternoon.

With their star forward scratched, the Hawks struggled to switch back to their sans-Bedard game plan in a disjointed 4-1 loss to the Oilers.

"We were just off with everything: passes, shots, simple plays," captain Nick Foligno said.

Said coach Jeff Blashill: "You have to win puck battles and puck races to have any chance, and we just didn’t do that early. You’re going to have zero identity when you don’t do that."

The Hawks also lost Teuvo Teravainen, who didn't return after the first period due to an upper-body injury. And they nearly killed an otherwise healthy Artyom Levshunov with an absurd five-minute, 33-second shift — one of the longest in NHL history — in which he couldn't get off the ice.

Spencer Knight returned from his prior illness to keep the Hawks in the game with 33 saves, highlighted by some heroics in the first period, and Tyler Bertuzzi briefly cut the deficit to 2-1 with five minutes left. But the Hawks didn't play nearly well enough to deserve a better result.

"No one's Superman here," Foligno added. "You're obviously not going to feel great. But I told guys, 'The last time you feel great in the NHL is your first game.' It's a hard league. It's a league where you have to find your game, regardless of how you feel.

"We didn't make it hard on [the Oilers]. They were getting passes to the slot. That's not like us. We're a team that really protects the middle well, makes it really hard to get through. We're fast, [but] we didn't look as fast as we needed to be. It's all those things rolled into one."

Nasty bug

Even when everyone seemed healthy at morning skate, the illness was a big topic of conversation. Louis Crevier, for example, lost about eight pounds in 48 hours over the weekend because he couldn't keep solid food down.

And Knight was on the fence about starting last Friday against the Capitals when Blashill suddenly found him "violently vomiting in the bathroom."

Barring an extreme reaction, though, it's reasonable to expect Bedard back Thursday against the Flames.

Bear fuel

It took mere seconds for another "Green Bay sucks" chant to echo through the United Center, even with the Packers now vanquished in the Bears' rear-view mirror.

Blashill met Bears coach Ben Johnson during training camp and has admired his work this season.

"[The Bears] did a good job, through the course of the year, of handling the emotional ups and downs," Blashill said. "There are a number of games where it looked [like] they may be out of it, and they just stuck with it. There definitely seemed to be a lot of emotional control in the team. That’s an important lesson for all of us to learn from."

New Cubs signing Alex Bregman, making his first appearance in his new city, was also among the 17,783 in attendance.

Looking forward

Frank Nazar (broken jaw) has been skating individually but not yet with the team, Blashill said. It seems iffy whether or not he will return before the Olympic break.

The Hawks have 11 games left before then, including two meetings against the Blue Jackets — who shockingly fired coach Dean Evason to hire Rick Bowness on Monday. The Jackets coincidentally entered the day with the exact same record as the Hawks: 19-19-7.

Speaking of the Olympics, Brayden Point — an initial Team Canada selection — suffered a serious-looking knee injury Monday in the Lightning's 5-1 win over the Flyers. If he's ruled out long-term, that could open a window for Bedard.

Prospect updates

Hawks goalie prospect Drew Commesso returned to Rockford on Sunday, but his 36-save shutout in Nashville won't be forgotten anytime soon. He has proven he deserves a longer NHL tryout if the opportunity arises.

Forward prospect Sacha Boisvert, who is worth monitoring as someone who potentially could turn pro and make his NHL debut later this season, has finally returned to Boston University's lineup after months plagued by a nagging shoulder injury. He has three points in his first three games back.

Hawks forward Nick Lardis might not count as a prospect anymore, but it was funny to see him taking a photo during warmups with Oilers forward Zach Hyman — who owns the junior team, Brantford, that Lardis played for last season. That's how young the Hawks are compared to their opposition.