On a line with Jason Dickinson, it seemed likely that Connor Bedard would get on the scoresheet. He didn’t disappoint. Even though the Blackhawks fell 2-1 to the New York Islanders, Bedard notched an assist in his second straight game.
Bedard assisted on Dickinson’s 21st goal of the season just short of eight minutes into the first period. His 37th assist of the season moves him sixth all time among Blackhawks rookies. The assist also added another to his point total, giving him 58 in 61 games with seven more contests to go.
At this pace, he’ll likely pass Darryl Sutter to move sixth all time in points, but it might be tougher when it comes to catching Hawks icon Jeremy Roenick.
Connor Bedard Continues Point Streak With Assist
Bedard now has an assist in four of his last five games. He also has 12 points in his last 10 games, with 10 of those points being assists. With seven games to go, Bedard’s five game pace reasons that he’ll surpass Sutter’s 62 points but Roenick’s 66 points might be a bit far fetched.
Important to remember, however, is that every Blackhawks name above him played no less than 76 games, which adjusted at a point-per-game pace with the minimal amount, Bedard would fall in at 72 points while a full 82 would put him at approximately 78 points.
The 76-game pace would tie him with Patrick Kane while the 82-game pace would place him second all time as a Blackhawks rookie in points.
In the final seven games of the season, however, six of the Blackhawks seven opponents are playoff teams or fighting furiously for a spot. The Minnesota Wild may be too far out of a spot at this point, but stranger things have happened as they sit just six points behind.
But of those seven teams, five of them (St. Louis, Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Nashville) are also chasing the final two Wild Card spots. Those five games will each present a larger challenge with the Blackhawks playing the role of spoiler–and giving Bedard a chance to move up the Blackhawks rookie rankings by beating some quality teams in the meantime.
The other two teams (Dallas and Carolina) are both solidly in divisional spots, but will still present their own challenge.
The next seven games will certainly hold more intrigue even in a season where Chicago is in a full rebuild.
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