Connor Bedard departs after big hit as Chicago Blackhawks lose 4-2 to New Jersey Devils
By Allan Kreda, The Associated Press on January 5, 2024.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard departed after he was leveled in the first period of a 4-2 loss to Simon Nemec and the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. Bedard was hit by Devils defenseman Brendan Smith after the 18-year-old center carried the puck into Chicago’s offensive zone. Bedard then skated to the bench holding his face as Nick Foligno, Brett Seney and several teammates ignited a skirmish behind the Devils net. Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson had no update on Bedard after the loss. He said he will be evaluated on Saturday when the team is back in Chicago. After the All-Star departed, there was a series of skirmishes before New Jersey rallied for its fifth win in six games. Nemec and Alexander Holtz each had a goal and an assist as the Devils improved to 13-5-1 in their last 19 games. Michael McLeod snapped a tie in the third period, and Tyler Toffoli added an empty-netter for his 16th goal of the season. New Jersey goaltender Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves. Injury-riddled Chicago lost its fifth consecutive game. The last-place Blackhawks also dropped their 14th straight road game. Jason Dickinson and Boris Katchouk scored for Chicago, and Arvid Soderblom made 28 saves. Katchouk gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead with a short-handed goal with 1:36 left in the second. Katchouk celebrated his third of the season by holding his right hand up to the side of his helmet, egging on the crowd for more noise. The Devils responded with three unanswered goals in the final period. Nemec tied it at 2 with his second of the season at 5:41, and McLeod got his 10th at 11:56. Bedard was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. The 18-year-old center has 15 goals and 18 assists in 38 games. Smith was not penalized for his hit on Bedard, but he was confronted by the Blackhawks at a couple different points after the play. Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi appeared to have words with Smith as the teams were skating off the ice after the first. Chicago forward Nick Foligno and Smith had a prolonged bout early in the second period. Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic also fought with Devils forward Nathan Bastian as part of a general on-ice fracas with most of the crowd at Prudential Center to its feet. At one point, there were four Blackhawks and three Devils in their respective penalty boxes. The Devils were coming off a 6-3 win at Washington on Wednesday. The Devils were without injured forwards Ondrej Palat and Timo Meier for the second straight game. UP NEXT Blackhawks: Host the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Devils: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl 23-22
