Dickinson nets game-winner after Bedard’s incredible goal waved off
The move by Connor Bedard was so slick. So smooth. So spectacular.
And it led to a goal that looked to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead over Ottawa with 7:36 remaining Saturday.
One problem: The play was offside, nullifying what appeared to be Bedard's 17th tally of the season.
No matter.
Less than six minutes later, Jason Dickinson came through and buried the game-winner to lift the Hawks to a 3-2 victory. It snapped an eight-game winless streak for Luke Richardson’s squad.
Maybe it’s because he was gone nearly six weeks, but Bedard’s wizardry seems to have leapt to another level since his return. After scoring the only goal during a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday, he notched 2 more points Saturday and took 5 shots on goal in 18:17 of ice time.
He scored at 10:54 of the second period and assisted on Nick Foligno's goal at 13:29 of the first period.
“Not too often does an 18-year-old come in and have this kind of an impact on a team,” said Dickinson, who scored with 1:52 remaining while falling to the ice. “It’s very few players that have the opportunity to do something like that, and it’s even fewer that take that opportunity and run with it.
“He’s a special player, demands a lot of himself and it shows in his play.”
Bedard’s goal was disallowed because the puck left the offensive zone for a split second before it hit his stick. Still, the score was a thing of beauty.
After slicing between two Senators, Bedard sped in on Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo with teammate Philipp Kurashev moving to the right to create a 2-on-1. As Kurashev opened up for a possible one-timer, Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson inexplicably moved away from Bedard. That left a gaping hole for Bedard to move into and he pulled off a backhand/forehand move that Korpisalo had no chance of stopping.
“I wanted to pass to Kurshy there and then the D-man kind of took it away,” Bedard said. “So try to make a move and make the goalie kind of bite a little. You're almost always improvising (on plays like that). … It's a lot of instincts.”
Ones that few have.
“He came in (after) such a quick turnover that it's hard for people to stop him,” Richardson said. “It was an impressive game from him. He would have loved to have the 3-point night, but we'll take the 2 all around.”
The Hawks (15-37-3) won despite getting outshot 32-7 during one stretch and 42-22 overall. They've held the lead for just 6.5 minutes during the last nine games.
The Hawks play at Carolina on Monday then return for a five-game homestand.