Connor Bedard, Blackhawks eager to spoil Avalanche's home opener

 

[October 19, 2023]  Chicago Blackhawks fans have been impatiently waiting to see the newest wunderkind make his home debut, but they'll have to wait a little longer.

On the other hand, Colorado Avalanche fans finally get to see their team on home ice.

Connor Bedard, Chicago's center who was the top pick in the NHL draft in June, is set to play his fifth NHL game, and all of them have been on the road. Blackhawks fans will get their first regular-season look at Bedard Saturday after Chicago faces the Avalanche in Denver Thursday night.

With the hype Bedard has created, he has drawn many comparisons to 2015 No. 1 overall pick and Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid. So far, Bedard has lived up to the hefty expectations. He has one goal and two assists, and Chicago has split its first four games of the season.

Bedard recorded a point in each of his first three games before being kept off the scoresheet in a 4-1 win at Toronto Monday night. Despite being just 18 years old, Bedard has done a fine job of dealing with the pressures of being in the NHL.

"Handling it really well," said teammate Taylor Hall, the No. 1 pick by Edmonton in 2010. "He does way too many in-game interviews ... they need to find a way to just let him play."

The Blackhawks are starting over after their run of success from 2010-15 when they won three Stanley Cup titles behind Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Toews was the team captain from 2008 until this year and is taking time away from hockey to focus on his health, while Kane was dealt to the New York Rangers last season.

Chicago hopes Bedard can be the foundation for another dominant stretch, but it will take time, just like it did for the Avalanche. Colorado finished with just 48 points in the 2016-17 season, the first under coach Jared Bednar, but is now just two seasons removed from winning it all.

The Avalanche are one of the favorites to win another title behind a strong core of young stars and a fresh batch of secondary players. The star Tuesday night was Logan O'Connor, whose short-handed goal ended up being the game-winner in a 4-1 victory at Seattle.

O'Connor has been a valuable piece for Bednar, acting as an enforcer at times and a mainstay on the penalty kill, which hasn't allowed a goal in 13 chances so far.

"He's going to play as hard as he can, use his skating to his advantage," Bednar said of O'Connor. "He's willing to do all the little things that it takes to have success."

Colorado may prefer to stay on the road instead of playing at home. The Avalanche swept their three-game road trip to start the season and have won 14 straight regular-season road games dating back to last season. That ties the NHL record set by Buffalo from April 3-Nov. 13, 2006.

The successful road trip was buoyed by strong goaltending from Alexandar Georgiev. He has stopped 91 of the 95 shots he has faced and carries a 1.30 goals-against average into the home opener.

--Field Level Media

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