The Chicago Blackhawks will get superstar center Connor Bedard back in their lineup against the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
Bedard, 20, has missed the past 12 games for the Blackhawks after injuring his shoulder against the St. Louis Blues on December 12. Before suffering the injury, the 2023 first-overall draft selection was rivaling some of the league’s top veterans for the scoring lead in the NHL with 44 points (19g, 25a) in 31 games.
Coming into Friday’s contest, the Blackhawks are riding a four-game winning streak, which includes a 3-2 shootout win over the Capitals without Bedard. The team’s recent winning ways see them just three points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“Yeah, he’s a significant challenge,” Caps head coach Spencer Carbery said pregame. “He’s having a phenomenal season. We’ve seen him in the past; we didn’t see him a week ago, but the things that he can do with the puck, breaking you down in 1-on-1 situations, whether that’s through the rush or in the offensive zone. When he gets into scoring situations, he changes his shot angles as good as anybody in the world.
“When he gets in tight spaces, and you think you’ve got him stick on puck, he’s able to just move it six inches more to get a real, clean look off when he gets into that dangerous scoring area, and frankly, that’s a little bit larger for him than it is for most players. So, we’re aware of that. We’re going to need to do a real good job without last change, so that mean’s everybody’s going to probably, inevitably face him at some point.”
Outside of playing for the first time in almost a month, Bedard will have some extra personal motivation after being snubbed from Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“When you don’t meet an expectation or meet one of your goals, I think the only thing to do is look in the mirror and see where you can get better,” Bedard said earlier this week. “That’s an exciting opportunity for me.”
In four career games against the Capitals, Bedard has been kept relatively quiet, notching just two assists. The Blackhawks are reportedly dealing with an illness in their locker room, making it unclear who Bedard will be skating with on a line against Washington.
To clear a roster spot for Bedard’s activation from injured reserve, the Blackhawks assigned defenseman Ethan Del Mastro to the Rockford IceHogs on Thursday.
