Blackwell helps the Blackhawks beat the Flames 4-3 in first game without Bedard
By Jay Cohen, The Associated Press on January 7, 2024.
CHICAGO (AP) – Colin Blackwell had two goals and an assist and the Chicago Blackhawks won their first game since Connor Bedard was sidelined by a broken jaw, topping the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Sunday. Nikita Zaitsev added a goal and an assist for last-place Chicago, which had dropped five in a row and seven of eight overall. Philipp Kurashev also scored, and Petr Mrazek made 28 saves. Bedard’s jaw was fractured when the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft was hit by New Jersey defenseman Brendan Smith in the first period Friday night in a 4-2 loss to the Devils. Chicago then lost Nick Foligno when he broke a finger on his left hand in a fight with Smith in the second. Nazem Kadri had two goals for Calgary, which closed out a 2-2-0 road trip after losing 3-2 at Philadelphia on Saturday. Andrew Mangiapane also scored, and Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists. Blackwell scored the first goal of the game with a well-placed wrist shot 4:32 into the first period. He made it 4-2 with a power-play goal with 5:23 left, beating Dan Vladar on the goaltender’s glove side. Calgary got one back on Kadri’s 13th of the season with 4:41 remaining, but Chicago held on in the final minutes. Each team had to deal with an unfortunate deflection in the second period. Calgary took a 2-1 lead at 3:26 when Mangiapane’s power-play shot from the side banked in off the right skate of Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy. Mangiapane was credited with his eighth goal of the season. After Kurashev tied it with his eighth, Zaitsev’s big slap shot from beyond the right circle went in off the right skate of Flames defenseman Nick DeSimone for a 3-2 lead with 5:11 left in the period. It was Zaitsev’s second goal. With nine players on injured reserve, including eight forwards, the Blackhawks went with seven defensemen against the Flames. There has been no word on how long Bedard and Foligno will be out. The 18-year-old Bedard was off to an impressive start in his first season, leading the Blackhawks with 15 goals and 18 assists. “Still just evaluating how he’s doing and settling down,” coach Luke Richardson said. “We know there’s a jaw fracture, but it’s swollen so I think the doctors are just giving it a few days to see how it settles.” Richardson inserted Zach Sanford into the lineup after the veteran forward was claimed off waivers from Arizona on Saturday, but Rem Pitlick had some travel issues after he was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh. UP NEXT Flames: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night. Blackhawks: Host Edmonton on Tuesday night. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl 19-18
