Pregame Blackhawks & Sharks Notes: Celebrini, Bedard & More 2/2/2026

For a fun fact, he said he met with Bedard and Colton Dach at Gibsons Italia for lunch yesterday, which he mentioned was a go-to restaurant of his. He also noted that he thinks Chicago is probably the best city for food.

When it came to what he was expecting facing the Blackhawks, “Yeah, no, expect a good game. You know, they also took a step this year, and it’s going to be an exciting matchup, I think. It’s going to be fun to play and going to be different, but I’m going to enjoy it.”

This season, Kurashev has 15 points in 32 games, and it’s his second game back from an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for over a month.

He was asked if he was coming into the game with a chip on his shoulder, “Yeah, I mean 100 percent, you know. But at the end of the day… I don’t think like this. It’s a really important game for us. We have to get the win. We know it’s the time now that we need every point we can get, and that’s what the focus is on. And I’m just going to do my best to help the team in any way I can, and that’s all.”

There truly was a lot of appreciation in Kurashev’s voice for his time in Chicago. But on the ice, it will be business as usual.

The Celebrini/Bedard Game

When it comes to Celebrini and Bedard, there is fun in the matchup. Both gave glowing reviews of each other.

For Bedard’s takeaways with skating with Celebrini over the summer, “I think, yeah, just his work ethic. You know, obviously, he’s having such a great career and is such a great player. But it doesn’t happen by accident. You know, he puts a ton of time in and effort. And obviously, for me, and for both of us, getting to just kind of compete against each other every day, and have that competition- we got a great group of guys that skate in the summer. So, you know, it’s always fun.”

Celebrini said about Bedard and if there is extra motivation for the matchup, “Obviously having a guy like that in the summers to battle against, and pick some things up from, he’s a pretty special talent in what he does, and I think, just being able to kind of take some things from him, and apply it to my game has definitely helped me in the summers. I think tonight, I mean, we don’t need to get up any more than we already need to for other reasons.”

Celebrini also praised Bedard’s focus and approach over the summer.

Bedard had a similar take when asked about extra motivation for the game between the two of them on Feb. 1, “No, I think, you know, it’s Blackhawks versus Sharks. You know, I don’t think either of us really look at that, if you ask him the same thing. Obviously, I’m looking forward to seeing him just off the ice and saying hi, but, you know, just another game.”

Just like with Kurashev, fun aside, it’s business as usual.

Blackhawks Looking For Results

The Blackhawks lost two of their three games against the Sharks last season. Right now, both teams sit outside the playoffs. The Sharks’ 58 points sit them two points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, while the Blackhawks have 51 points.

Blackhawks center Jason Dickinson knows the final two games before the Olympic break are important for his team. He shared with me, in part, about the team’s mindset, “Play good hockey and winning will happen. You know, we played some poor hockey, and then we played some good periods, and it’s not enough to win. So, I want us to play a full 60 [minutes], come out and play the way that we know we can, and let the results kind of speak for themselves…”

The Blackhawks-Sharks game is important to both teams, and with many storylines to follow, it should make for an entertaining evening.