Connor Bedard Faces Scoring Struggles as Blackhawks Seek Offensive Answers

Connor Bedard is trying to stay confident, but the Chicago Blackhawks forward is frustrated with his lack of points so far this season.

"It's been a tough time, and you feel like you don't have what it takes, and you lose a little bit of confidence and it just keeps going," Bedard said Friday. "Obviously it's been a little tough for me. So like I said, I'm just going to keep fighting every game, trying to be the best I can be and hopefully things will work out."

The 19-year-old center, who was Chicago's No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, had 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 20 games to lead the Blackhawks. They will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center (1 p.m. ET, CHSN, NHLN, NBCSP, SN). Bedard has two goals (and two assists in a 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday) in his last six games, but has not scored a goal in 11 games since a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in October. 26.

So what can Bedard do to make up for his lack of scoring power? “I mean, I could name 100 things. But I don’t know, man. “Of course it was uncomfortable,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I was really doing anything. So I think I'm keeping this, and I hope you find my game. "

The endless Bedad result last season was when we supervised all new arrivals of Black Hox and NHL for 61 points (22 goals, 39 programs) in 68 games. He won the cardtrophy and awarded the NHL rookie of the Year.

The Blackhawks have tried various line combinations in hopes of stoking Bedard’s production. The latest top-line features Bedard at left wing with Jason Dickinson at center and Joey Anderson at right wing. The three have played together the past two games, with Bedard assisting on Dickinson's two goals against Anaheim.

"I think the best thing we did was put (Bedard) with two guys who are really accountable and play really good hockey," said Brown. "They keep the puck, they make plays in the offensive zone, they just have to be patient with it," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "It happened (against Anaheim). It happened because they did something right. And last night (a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers), I think it took good defense from all of us to win that game," Bedard said. "I think it's a sign of a good team and players that are growing, maybe playing in a different role outside of their comfort zone to get the job done." Bedard said he agreed to the move to left wing. He can focus on the plays, which takes the pressure off him on faceoffs, where he's 47 of 158 (29.8 percent) this season. Dickinson is winning 46.3 percent of his faceoffs (138 of 298). "Yeah, I mean, it feels like a lot less work than playing center," Bedard said. "You focus on positioning and where you are and you see that by playing that position."

Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who coached 1,868 games, the second-most in NHL history, said it's "totally normal" for a young center to spend a lot of time playing as a winger. "(Florida center) Anton Randle did it, but I don't know if (center Aleksander) Barkov did it. There's a lot of components to this game and understanding the different positions is really important." "We've got some teams that have size and some teams that have weight, and that's to be expected," Maurice said before Thursday's game. Bedard isn't alone. Scoring has been an issue for the Blackhawks (7-12-1), who are averaging 2.35 goals per game (30th in the NHL) this season after allowing 2.17 goals per game (32nd in the NHL) last season. But Bedard is the new face of the Blackhawks, expected to produce and will continue to work to find his touch.

"Like I said last night, we didn't bring him here to play checkers," Richardson said. "But our team is lacking in scoring, so we're going to focus on defense until we get more power-play opportunities, score some goals and feel a little more confident on offense."