Blackhawks star Connor Bedard makes his season debut in victory over Penguins

CHICAGO (AP) — It took all of one game for Connor Bedard to provide a reminder of his importance to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bedard had a successful season debut Tuesday night, helping Chicago to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 21-year-old center recorded a primary assist in the first period and showed promising chemistry while playing alongside Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov.

It was Bedard’s first game since he had surgery on his left shoulder on July 8.

“Just to be back out there … it’s what I live for,” he said. “And it was just so much fun.”

Chicago was outscored 26-12 while dropping five of its first six games without Bedard, who had a team-high 45 assists and 75 points last season. The Blackhawks managed a total of three goals in their previous two games before the victory over the Penguins.

Bedard got hurt while skating with a group of NHL players in Western Canada this summer. After the operation, the team said he would be sidelined for approximately four months.

“You never really know how things are going to go,” he said. “I put a lot of time and effort into the rehab process to try and maybe come back a little earlier than I guess originally expected, but at the end of the day it’s just when they felt comfortable. So it was safe for me to get back out there.”

Bedard skated for more than 21 minutes and had three shots on goal. He was 6 for 14 on face-offs.

“Overall, like to miss what he’s missed and to be able to come out and play that well is pretty impressive,” coach Jeff Blashill said.

It was Bedard’s first game since he became the second-youngest captain in the history of the Original Six franchise on Sept. 15. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft agreed to a $75 million, five-year contract in July.

Bedard played with Kane and Kantserov on the team’s top line and power-play unit, and it looks as if the trio could be a dangerous combination for Chicago. Nick Lardis was assigned to Rockford of the AHL to make room for Bedard on the roster.

Chicago and Pittsburgh were tied at 1 when Bedard made a nice touch pass to Kantserov, who beat Sergei Murashov on the goaltender’s stick side for a power-play goal with 2:10 left in the first.

Bedard had a prime scoring opportunity with about nine minutes remaining in the opening period, but he was turned away by Murashov.

“He was great,” Kane said. “It looked like he was skating well. It looked like he was making plays. Had some really good chances, some nice passes. I thought it was a great night for him.”

Bedard made his NHL debut against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in 2023. He was heralded as the new face of the Blackhawks, and he won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.

He missed 12 games last season after he hurt his right shoulder on Dec. 12. He wasn’t allowed to take faceoffs after he returned, but he has no restrictions this year.

“It’s nice. I mean, you want to just play your full game,” Bedard said. “So just get back out there and you want to play as free as you can. It’s nice that we had two practices for me to get into and feel some bumps and get into battles and stuff where it’s not as controlled.”

While Bedard returned, Frank Nazar missed the matchup with the Penguins. The 22-year-old forward finished his two-game suspension for an illegal check on New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat on Thursday night.

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