Connor Bedard definitely has his swagger back.

Since Anders Sorensen has taken over as interim head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, the team has begun playing closer to the level that was expected of them at the start of the season.

In six games under Sorensen, the Blackhawks have played with more intensity than was shown in their previous games. Many players who were struggling and looking to regain confidence are beginning to heat up and generate more offense of late.

Sorensen’s new perspective and more consistent line combinations are a big part of why the team seems to be finding more of a rhythm lately.

We saw the team recently complete a comeback from being down 2-0 against the Washington Capitals who have become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season.

three goals in the third for a comeback W ‼️ pic.twitter.com/JJu81dEQUm

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2024

After a strong stretch of recent play and the team having the opportunity to have their first three-game winning streak since February of 2023, it seems as though Sorensen’s messages are getting through to the players.

These are the three aspects of play that have improved for the Blackhawks under Anders Sorensen’s influence…

Connor Bedard has regained his confidence.

A player who has the world watching him as much as Bedard is bound to be covered more than the average player. His struggles to find the back of the net were covered extensively through the media as it became more known that he was playing through some frustrations.

However, since Sorensen took over as the head coach, Bedard is playing with his swagger once again. His creativity is shining through more and more as he is back to making high-end plays that he is capable of making.

With 6 points in his last 6 games, Bedard is finding his offense again and is really becoming a threat on the powerplay. Despite none of the Blackhawks’ goals coming from the man advantage against Washington, Bedard and Frank Nazar were dazzling the United Center crowd with their playmaking abilities.

Defensemen are playing more aggressively.

One area that Sorensen was very vocal about improving upon from the start was implementing the defensemen more in the team’s offense.

Sorensen has a strong track record as of late with developing young defensemen in the AHL, and he has the opportunity to coach some of those players at the NHL level.

The Blackhawks were not finding much offense at all prior to the coaching change, but the chances have been coming much more frequently since this change to their offensive scheme.

In Sorensen’s first game with the Blackhawks, the team’s two goals came from defensemen being more active in the offensive zone.

and we're all tied up at 2-2😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/tJI5x3Fqdl

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2024

The recent call-up of Kevin Korchinski has also been a pleasant addition to the back end, after the former seventh-overall pick spent some time with the IceHogs to start the season.

Korchinski’s recent play has shown that his development in Rockford has been paying off as he looks much more poised and acclimated to professional play. The confidence that Sorensen has shown in the young defender has yielded strong results at both ends of the ice.

Alex Vlasic has also continued to emerge as the team’s top defender under Sorensen. The 23-year old has been becoming much more of a two-way threat as he already tied his point totals from last season.

Vlasic’s 16 points in 32 games currently ties his total from last season, which he totaled in 76 games.

Teuvo Teravainen is on a hot streak.

One major talking point about the Blackhawks in the beginning of this season was the slump that Teuvo Teravainen had been in.

Teravainen was expected to be one of the top contributors on the team and was even vocal about having lost confidence due to his scoring not being up to par with his standards for himself.

The constant shake-ups to the forward lines affected most of the players who were struggling to find sustained chemistry with their linemates. Teravainen was being moved around the lineup a lot and was still trying to find where he fit in on this team.

Turbo was locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/vXh99FAGWF

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 16, 2024

Teravainen has recently found chemistry alongside Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev on the team’s third line and has also been finding his scoring touch on the powerplay.

Over the last two games, Teravainen has 6 points and is beginning to look more and more like the player Blackhawks’ fans were expecting him to be.

With the way his play has been trending as of late, it seems that Teravainen is finding his confidence again and has benefitted from Sorensen’s coaching.