Bedard scores first goal of season, Blackhawks recover for OT win against Jets

CHICAGO -- Connor Bedard scored his first goal of the season and set up the overtime winner for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-3 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at United Center on Thursday.

Artyom Levshunov took a feed from Bedard, moved into the slot and put the puck past Jets goalie Stuart Skinner at 1:37 of overtime.

“Good pass by ‘Bedsy’ and a good goal by me,” Levshunov said. “That’s it. Simple, simple.”

Patrick Kane had two assists to set the assist record for United States-born players for the Blackhawks (3-5-0). Spencer Knight made 31 saves.

“Yeah, I think it’s a big deal,” said Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill. “You get to overtime and there’s certainly chance that plays into overtime. That’s reality but they are points. We talked about it last year. We had a poor record once we got past regulation, and we need a better record than that. So this is a good step that way. I think the win is a big deal.”

Neal Pionk had a goal and two assists, and Skinner made 24 saves for the Jets (4-1-2). 

Pionk had a chance to score 35 seconds into the overtime, but he was stopped by Knight while in alone on goal.

“Yeah, he made a great save,” Pionk said. “(Mark Scheifele) made a great play. I’ve got to find a way to put it in the net. At the end of the day, that is what it is. I thought overall it was a good job for us to come back and get a point. But there are some things we’ll clean up in our game. Got to find a way to get those overtime wins.”

Bedard put Chicago up 1-0 with a power-play goal at 8:11 of the first period. Kane passed from the goal line to the right of the net to Bedard, who scored on a wrist shot from the slot for his first goal of the season.

Chicago’s new captain missed the first six games of the season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He had an assist in a 5-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday in his season debut.

The assist for Kane gave him 895 for his career, surpassing Phil Housley for the all-time lead among American-born players.

“Phil Housley’s a guy my dad grew up watching, and my dad wore No. 6 when he was younger and Housley wore No. 6 for the Sabres,” said Kane, a native of Buffalo. “Obviously I’ve gotten to know him over the years through different USA stuff. Always a guy I looked up to. He’s an amazing player. I guess you play long enough you get the opportunities to achieve things like this, so it’s pretty special.”

Frank Nazar’s unassisted goal at 15:10 increased the Blackhawks’ lead to 2-0. Nazar picked up a long rebound near the defensive blue line, broke in on Skinner and fired a wrist shot past the goalie’s stick.

It was Nazar’s first game back following a two-game suspension for an illegal hit on the New York Islanders’ Bo Horvat on Oct. 8.

Pionk brought the Jets to within 2-1 with a slap shot from the right point at 16:57.

Ryan Donato restored the Blackhawks’ two-goal lead at 17:11, when he stickhandled into the offensive zone, moved from the right boards and into the left circle, where he went short side against Skinner.

Kyle Connor’s power-play goal for the Jets at 4:44 of the second period made it 3-2. Connor put the puck through Knight after taking a feed in the right circle from Scheifele. Connor has five goals on a four-game goal streak.

Alex Iafallo tied the game 3-3 at 5:39 of the third period when Pionk’s shot from the right point deflected into the net off Iafallo’s right leg.

“Just a nice play coming in,” Iafallo said. “Neal’s been getting great shots through. It’s nice for us. We just kind of have to get to the net … Neal just saw me going to the net, and it hit off my calf.”

NOTES: Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov did not play after falling into the boards during the morning skate. Coach Scott Arniel said the Jets would have Namestnikov examined in Winnipeg ahead of the game against Carolina on Saturday. … Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram did not play and is day to day because of an upper-body injury.