DETROIT — Connor Bedard was the last Chicago Blackhawks player off the ice in warmups, giving the few Hawks fans in attendance some high-fives.
When the puck dropped for the opening faceoff, Bedard was ready.
It took him only 59 seconds to score his ninth goal of the season — a snipe off a great setup by Artyom Levshunov — and the Hawks went on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Sunday at Little Caesars Arena.
Bedard added two assists as the Hawks (8-5-3), despite being outshot 46-20, used a three-goal third period to turn a nail-biter into a blowout. They finished their six-game trip 3-2-1 and will return to the United Center on Wednesday versus the New Jersey Devils on a three-game winning streak.
Bedard also will come back on a heater with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in his last eight games. Already the youngest Hawk to reach 150 career points, he’s moving up the franchise list for most points before turning 21.
Now at 153 points, Bedard is fourth on the under-21 list, with Denis Savard (160) and Patrick Kane (161) in his sights. Eddie Olczyk holds the team record with 180 points before his 21st birthday.
It will be a few games before Bedard passes Kane, but he’ll take Sunday’s win against the former Hawks great for now. It was Kane’s first loss to his former team since the Hawks traded him in February 2023.
“Good road win at the end of the trip,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “You win special teams battles, you win a lot of games.
“Early in the year when we lost some games I thought we could have won, we weren’t winning the special teams battle. Now we are.”
The Hawks were 3-for-3 on the power play and killed off all five of their penalties. Teuvo Teräväinen, Tyler Bertuzzi and Bedard each scored seconds into a power play.
“Confidence is a huge factor in life and especially on special teams,” Blashill said. “When Connor zips the one-hand, that makes the rest of the power play more dangerous.”
To say Bedard is hot right now is an understatement. He took the NHL scoring lead with 25 points, though the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (24) played later Sunday.
And by reaching 25 points in his 16th game, Bedard matched Kane in 2015-16 as the fastest Hawks in the last 35 years to hit that milestone.
Bedard isn’t the only Hawk on fire either. Bertuzzi has six goals in his last three games.
“I’ve loved Bert from the moment I started coaching him in Grand Rapids,” Blashill said. “He came in during our playoffs and I thought he was a winning hockey player then, (and) I think he’s a winning hockey player now.”
Arvid Söderblom started in net for the Hawks and finished with a career-high 45 saves. He had a couple of highlights, including a save on his brother, left wing Elmer Söderblom, in the first period and a toe-tap save in the second.
“(I’ve) been off for a few days and haven’t played in a while, so the first few minutes (I felt) a little off,” Söderblom said. “But once I felt some shots, I got into it pretty good right away.”
It was the first time Arvid and Elmer faced each other in the NHL. The Hawks goaltender made sure to stay humble after stopping his brother’s shot.
“You should never be chirping as a goalie; that can bite you in the (butt) pretty quick,” Söderblom said. “I might give it to him afterward.”
Oliver Moore scored his first NHL goal with 15.6 seconds left. The winger has made an impact since being called up from Rockford before last Monday’s game in Seattle.
“It was really good to get the first one out of the way,” Moore said. “It feels like a weight off the shoulders a little bit in that category.
“It’s all about the guys in here making it easy for me to come in. If we keep playing winning hockey, hopefully it’s the first of many.”
Frank Nazar was a last-minute scratch after suffering an undisclosed injury Friday while being crosschecked by the Calgary Flames’ Joel Farabee.
Blashill had said beforehand that Nazar would be a game-time decision, so a lengthy absence doesn’t appear to be a concern. The Detroit native has 11 points (five goals, six assists) and a plus-3 rating in 15 games this season.
The two weeks of travel is now over. It’s time for the Hawks to go home.
“It’s been a long road trip and it’s going to be good to get back home and spend some time with the family,” Söderblom said. “Looking forward to it.”