RECAP: Bedard scores in OT, Blackhawks Recover to Top Utah

CHICAGO – Connor Bedard scored at 3:10 of overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory against the Utah Hockey Club at United Center on Friday.

Bedard circled the net and scored from the slot after going eight games without a goal.

“I wanted to dish it,” Bedard said. “I think on that 2-on-1 with (Ethan Del Mastro) and their guy, backcheck well and just try to have a little poise. I wanted to dish it again with (Teuvo Teravainen), so last resort, just chuck one on net. Fortunately it went in.

“Of course it’s nice to produce. I mean, I’m an offensive guy, and obviously points aren’t everything, but you can see a couple go your way. It feels good.”

Wyatt Kaiser, Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar scored for the Blackhawks (20-35-8), and Spencer Knight made 36 saves.

Knight won for the second time in as many games since coming to the Blackhawks in a trade last Saturday with Florida.

“Good,” Chicago interim coach Anders Sorensen said of Knight. “I mean, just impressive how dynamic he is down low, how explosive he is and how quickly he gets his pads down. Really good.”

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, and Mikhail Sergachev had two assists for Utah (28-25-10), which won 4-2 at Detroit on Thursday. Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves

“We need points at this point,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “It’s a back-to-back. I think we stayed in the hunt, we stayed right there, and we’ll take that.

“Our team’s a young team who needs to keep growing. The stretch we are in, the situation we are in, it’s adversity. It’s challenging. And we like it. I can see the players embracing it.”

Nick Schmaltz gave Utah a 1-0 lead 56 seconds into the first period after the Blackhawks could not clear their defensive zone. Clayton Keller picked up the puck behind the net. His centering pass deflected out to Schmaltz, who scored stick side from the slot.

Kaiser tied the game at 9:23 of the second period. After hitting the post with a shot, Bedard picked up the puck in the right corner and sent a backhander into the slot. Kaiser picked up the pass and scored on a wrist shot.

The Blackhawks went up 2-1 at 12:50 when Mikheyev took a drop pass from Ryan Donato, stickhandled in from the left-wing boards and put a backhander under Vejmelka's left arm.

Nazar was awarded a penalty shot at 14:30 after he was brought down from behind by John Marino while on a breakaway. On the penalty shot, Nazar deked and sent a backhander over Vejmelka’s right pad to push the lead to 3-1.

Nazar became the first Blackhawks rookie to score on a penalty shot.

“Honestly, it was a little different this time,” Nazar said. “I went out for the shootout against St. Louis earlier in the season. And a lot of nerves going through you (the) first time. And then this time, just kind of having that experience and knowing what it's going to feel like, just trust in myself and believe. And just know I was able to make a good move.”

Marino saw the play leading up to the penalty shot this way: “It was kind of like a turnover there. Tracking back there, got tangled up with him. It is what it is.”

Marino scored from the right point at 5:04 of the third period to bring Utah within 3-2. The goal was Marino’s first of the season.

“Puck to the net, and (Jack McBain) had a good screen in front,” Marino said. “I don’t think he saw much. We were kind of doing that the whole night, low to high, and one was bound to go in. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win.”

Keller's power-play goal at 12:16 tied the game 3-3. Sergachev passed across to Keller, who scored on a one-timer from the right face-off circle.

“I liked the third period,” Tourigny said. “I think our guys were resilient. I think we stick together. Down by two, I liked the mindset when we got there. We knew it would be tough, they would pack it in and they would defend hard. But I liked the fact that we were composed, we were resilient … I liked the way we responded to the adversity.

“We found a way to get a point, with three points out of four on a back-to-back. I think we need to put that in the bank and go home.”

NOTES: Schmaltz became the second Utah player with an opening-minute goal, following Michael Kesselring (0:18 on Nov. 7, 2024). … Bedard tied Patrick Kane (24) for the second-most multipoint games by a Blackhawks teenager behind only Eddie Olczyk (29). … The Blackhawks activated forward Philipp Kurashev (hand) off injured reserve. The team was short a forward after the trade earlier in the day of forward Craig Smith and goalie Petr Mrazek to Detroit for forward Joe Veleno.