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Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson has to figure out a formula this week that can ignite center Connor Bedard.<\/p>\n
Bedard\u2019s wingers on the Hawks\u2019 first line have been a near-constant rotation this season, and that hasn\u2019t worked particularly well for him.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018He has to find that consistency, no matter who he\u2019s playing with,\u2019\u2019 Richardson said Monday. \u2018\u2018But we do have to look at the numbers and see who he\u2019s playing well with, just like everybody else, and maybe go back [to something that worked]. It\u2019s definitely in the bingo machine.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Bedard, 19, still leads the Hawks in scoring with 13 points in 16 games. That translates to a 67-point pace in a full season, slightly below his 74-point pace as a rookie. He has trailed off recently, however, with no goals and four points in his last seven games.<\/p>\n
Overall, Bedard is playing much more respectable defense than he did last season. His five-on-five offensive rates (in terms of shots and scoring chances) have increased, too, but his power-play rates are down.<\/p>\n
In his last two games \u2014 against the Stars and Wild \u2014 he has been quiet during five-on-five play, as well, with only two shots and one scoring chance combined. The Hawks need that to change immediately.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Earlier in the year, I was making a lot of plays, [feeling] pretty dangerous out there,\u2019\u2019 Bedard said. \u2018\u2018Lately, I\u2019ve been [making] less of an impact and not really making a difference. So hopefully I can contribute more.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Connor](\"https:\/\/ftw.usatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/90\/2023\/10\/USATSI_21618379-e1697039867968.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1\")
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Besides the very real \u2018\u2018sophomore slump\u2019\u2019 phenomenon, another challenge for Bedard has been his revolving door of linemates. Nobody has clicked with him the way Philipp Kurashev did last season, so nobody has gotten to play with him all that much, either.<\/p>\n
Of Bedard\u2019s roughly 242 minutes of five-on-five ice time, he has spent 57% of that time with Teuvo Teravainen, 42% with Nick Foligno, 27% with Kurashev, 18% with Lukas Reichel, 16% with Ryan Donato, 13% with Taylor Hall, 9% with Ilya Mikheyev and 7% with Tyler Bertuzzi.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s eight teammates, only one of whom he has spent more than half of his ice time with. And Teravainen\u2019s percentage is dropping, too, because they haven\u2019t played together recently (Bedard skated with Foligno and Reichel on Sunday). For comparison, Bedard spent a hefty 73% of his ice time with Kurashev last season.<\/p>\n
The fact that Bertuzzi ranks eighth at 7% is a big takeaway, considering he and Teravainen ostensibly were signed during the summer to provide Bedard with more talent and skills that complement his.<\/p>\n
Bertuzzi\u2019s puck-battle and net-front strengths were supposed to get Bedard possession and bury his rebounds, but his slowness and lack of creativity made Richardson abandon the experiment during the preseason.<\/p>\n
It is worth noting that Bedard\u2019s time distribution isn\u2019t radically different from that of other young stars on rebuilding teams. Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky, for example, entered Monday having spent 55% of his ice time with his most common linemate (Nick Suzuki), 50% with his second-most common (Cole Caufield) and between 19% and 37% with three others.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s worth asking: Is Richardson jumbling the first line too much and not giving Bedard enough time to find stability with any one combination? Or is he doing the jumbling out of necessity, not wanting to hinder Bedard\u2019s development by sticking with a line that isn\u2019t working? It\u2019s hard to know.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s partly on the player and partly on the coaches to get you to find a rhythm,\u2019\u2019 Foligno said. \u2018\u2018As much as you want to see [Bedard] get with consistent [linemates], we\u2019ve got to get on a roll as a team. Usually, that breeds more consistency and more chemistry with your linemates.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018For whatever reason, guys haven\u2019t really panned out. [Kurashev] and him, they\u2019ve tried it, but it stalls out. It\u2019s a matter of just finding the right recipe.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Neither Teuvo Teravainen nor Tyler Bertuzzi, the free agents the Hawks signed to insulate and complement Bedard, has clicked with the 19-year-old center, who has fallen into a slump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n