CHICAGO — Blackhawks forward Tyler Bertuzzi blocked Dmitry Orlov’s shot and then took the puck off his stick before contorting his body to get around the Carolina defenseman. Taking the puck in stride, Bertuzzi had 100 feet of open ice ahead of him.

Now, Bertuzzi is hardly the fastest guy around, but nobody was catching him on this breakaway. He had all the time and space in the world as he barreled in on Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen.

Too much time, it turned out. Too much space. Andersen calmly gloved Bertuzzi’s simple wrist shot, leaving the score tied 3-3 late in the third period Monday night. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. For one thing, the Blackhawks never seem to score on breakaways.

But, really, that’s just not how Bertuzzi scores goals. He doesn’t make moves. Doesn’t dangle. Doesn’t pick corners. Wrist shots? This guy barely even uses his wrists.

The Blackhawks’ leading scorer has found the back of the net 17 times this season, and only three of them have come from more than a few feet away. Bertuzzi is the human equivalent of the wall you practice tennis against, the rails on a pool table. The moment the Blackhawks gain the offensive blue line, Bertuzzi heads right to the net, standing on the lip of the crease, waiting for Connor Bedard or Teuvo Teräväinen to bank a puck in off of him — off his stick, off his leg, off his skate, whatever.

It looks so simple. But if it were simple, everyone would do it.

“I don’t know how to explain it, that’s just what I’ve always done,” Bertuzzi said. “In Guelph (junior), in Grand Rapids (AHL), in (the NHL). When I’ve been on the power play, I’ve always been a net-front guy, so that’s just the spot I like to be around. It’s just the place I go. It feels weird for me to be on the wall or the half-wall. I just like to be around the net. I think it makes it easier for my linemates, just knowing that I’ll be there.”

Three of Bertuzzi’s goals this season were off rebounds, including the one he bounced in off Andersen’s backside on Monday. One was a one-timer from very close range. And a whopping 10 were goal-mouth redirects — his trademark.

These aren’t tip-ins, the mid-air, low-slot deflections you see players practice at the end of every morning skate, the kind that helped make Joe Pavelski and Chris Kreider household names. These are a little greasier, a little less glamorous. But they count all the same. And few can pull them off as well as Bertuzzi.

“That’s a special skill he has, so I’m just trying to put it in an area, and he does the hard work,” Bedard said.

Bedard and Bertuzzi have connected for four such goals this season, while Teräväinen has teed up three of them. And these aren’t feathery little backdoor passes they’re sending Bertuzzi’s way. They are coming in hot because the timing has to be precise to make it through the chaos in the goal mouth.

“You get a backdoor, you’ve got to throw it pretty hard,” Bedard said. “Guys aren’t giving up much time to put it there. (Bertuzzi’s) telling me just rip it there, he’ll try to make a play on it, and he does. It’s impressive. It’s a great skill to have.”

One trick Bertuzzi has picked up over the years is going down to one knee when the pass is on its way. Six of his 10 redirect goals have come with his knee on the ice. Not only does it give him a wider berth for more stability as a crease missile comes his way, but it gives him something of a backstop, too. Bertuzzi has extraordinary hand-eye coordination, but even he can’t get the heart of his blade on the puck every time. If it bounces off his leg and goes in, hey, it still counts.

Bertuzzi will even bend the rules a bit, using his skate. He often braces the blade of his stick with his skate, providing stability and strength while essentially doubling the surface area with which he can redirect the puck. It makes it all but impossible to determine if he used his stick or his skate to score. Besides, you’re allowed to make a distinct kicking motion when you’re kicking your own stick into the puck. His second goal in Saturday’s win over Vegas was a prime example:

that's Bertuzzi's second goal on the power play tonight😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/67nxK1nfgq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 19, 2025

“I just try to get my body and stick in front of the puck,” Bertuzzi said. “If it doesn’t hit my stick, then it’ll hit my skate. I just kind of build a wall and try to get the puck in any way I can. When it goes from (Seth Jones) to (Teräväinen) and it’s a one-timer backdoor, it’s going to be hard. When pucks are coming that fast, you’ve just got to be ready. So I just brace myself for it, and if it doesn’t hit my stick, hopefully it’ll hit something else.”

And for the record, Bertuzzi prefers the term “guide” instead of kick, pointing out that he’s on one knee, so he really can’t pull off a flat-out kick in those situations. So far, no official or opposing coach has challenged one, anyway.

Bertuzzi’s proficiency around the net raises similar questions to Alex Ovechkin’s penchant for scoring on one-timers from the left circle. If everybody knows that’s where he’s going and that’s what he’s going to do, how does he keep finding himself unmarked in such a primo location?

“I don’t know,” Bertuzzi said with a chuckle. “I just try to find some open ice. If one side is blocked, maybe I’ll go around the net and try to find a soft spot on the other side. It’s just moving around constantly, knowing where the ‘D’ are looking and what side to be on.”

Whatever it is, it’s working. After scoring just five goals in his first 27 games, Bertuzzi has 12 in his last 20. Bertuzzi was ostensibly signed by general manager Kyle Davidson to be Bedard’s linemate, but then-coach Luke Richardson abandoned the idea after a poor performance in the preseason. Interim coach Anders Sorensen finally elevated Bertuzzi to Bedard’s line just before Christmas, and Bertuzzi has nine goals in those 14 games, while Bedard has six goals and nine assists in that span. Speedy and tenacious Frank Nazar has made a nice addition on the line the last few games, too.

Bertuzzi isn’t just another veteran passing through Chicago, either. He’s in the first year of a four-year contract. And the thought of Bedard winging those hard passes into the crease to a waiting Bertuzzi for years to come is awfully appealing.

“It took us a little bit of time, obviously, but we’ve got it down now,” Bertuzzi said. “Getting a chance to play with skilled players is awesome, and we feel good together.”