With two members of the Chicago Blackhawks’ leadership group out of the lineup, Connor Bedard wore the “A” as an alternate captain for the first time in his NHL career on Tuesday night. Bedard stepped up and did a tremendous job of leading the Blackhawks to victory, as he potted his second hat trick in the last ten games to take down the Calgary Flames 5-2 at the United Center.
“I’ve been so fortunate to learn from guys like Foligno, Dickinson, Murphy, all those guys that have been leaders in our room. Obviously, the Blackhawks jersey in general is such a special thing. There have been a lot of great players who have a letter on their chest and it’s a great honor and something I don’t take lightly. It’s cool, for sure.”
Bedard has given the Flames nightmares recently, as he has four goals, three assists, and seven points in two meetings over the past 11 days. He’s been involved on seven of the Blackhawks’ nine goals scored in those two contests, with both resulting in wins.
The 20-year-old forward continues to show he’s reached a different level in his third NHL campaign, as he’s now up to 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points through 19 games. Bedard is just one goal behind Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead, and he trails only MacKinnon (33) and Connor McDavid (30) in points.
“Honestly, it’s not uncharacteristic,” Oliver Moore said about Bedard’s performance. “What he’s doing right now is huge for our team, but it’s something he can keep doing. The way he’s playing [on] both sides of the puck, it’s leadership. For guys like me coming in and watching him play right now, it’s encouraging for sure.”
Once again, Bedard was a driving force behind the Blackhawks coming away with two points. With the win, the Hawks move to 5-0-1 in their last six games and have earned a point in six consecutive outings for the first time since 2019. They’re also 10-3-3 in 16 games since an 0-2-1 start to the season.
“It’s awesome,” Ryan Donato said after the game about the recent winning stretch. “You try not to dwell too much on the past, but guys have had a taste of both [winning and losing] now, and they see how fun it is when you’re winning and how contagious it is. It’s a completely different atmosphere in the locker room…. It’s super fun to be around right now.”
Let’s dive into the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 5-2 win over the Flames, which moves them to 10-5-4 on the season.
FIRST PERIOD
Neither team looked too inspired in the opening 20 minutes, and there wasn’t much flow early in the game. Only nine shots combined were put on net in the first period, and not many came from dangerous spots on the ice.
The only goal recorded in the period came from the home squad, as the Blackhawks have now scored first in 14 of their 19 games. After Louis Crevier’s shot from the point was blocked, Ryan Donato hopped on the loose puck to snap his eight-game goal drought and put Chicago ahead 1-0. Once again, Crevier and the Blackhawks get rewarded for making the simple play in the offensive zone. Crevier extended his current point streak to four games with the primary assist on Donato’s seventh goal of the season.
Oliver Moore➡️Louis Crevier➡️Ryan Donato🚨
Donato hops on Crevier’s rebound for his 7th goal of the season to put the #Blackhawks ahead 1-0! Crevier extends his point streak to 4 games with the assist. Moore now has 4 points in his last 6 games.pic.twitter.com/LpnPEkeXFp
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 19, 2025
Flames head coach Ryan Huska went on to challenge the play for goaltender interference, which was certainly a questionable decision. Even though seemingly no one knows precisely what goaltender interference is these days, this one never felt like it was going to get overturned.
Truly, there weren’t many other highlights from the sluggish opening frame on Tuesday. The Blackhawks outshot the Flames 5-4 in the low-event period and led 11-4 in scoring chances.
SECOND PERIOD
Play started to open up for both sides in the second stanza, and the Blackhawks generated a 2-on-1 scoring chance in the first minute. Ryan Greene made a tremendous bank pass to spring Bedard and Andre Burakovsky for a rush, but the big Swedish forward airmailed the net on his shot. Personally, I thought this was one where Bedard should have called his own number.
After Jake Bean was whistled for tripping and Kevin Bahl was called for delay of game, the Blackhawks were handed a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity for 24 seconds. Unfortunately, they couldn’t win a faceoff in the offensive zone and struggled to get set up off the rush, leading to a failed chance to add onto their lead.
But just a few moments after, Bedard showed off the speed he added to his repertoire in the offseason to put the Blackhawks ahead 2-0. Bedard outraced Flames’ defenseman Yan Kuznetsov to a loose puck and poked it through Dustin Wolf’s wickets for his 11th goal of the season. Sam Rinzel picked up the primary assist to snap his 10-game point drought. What hustle from Bedard!
Sam Rinzel➡️Connor Bedard🚨
Bedard shows off his speed to race down a loose puck & poke home his 11th goal of the season to extend the #Blackhawks lead to 2-0! Rinzel snaps his 10-game point drought with the lone assist. INCREDIBLE effort from Bedard!pic.twitter.com/LgBGJ8dkBM
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 19, 2025
The Blackhawks were in control for most of the opening 40 minutes, but they left the door open for the Flames with a penalty just before the second intermission. Connor Murphy was called for cross-checking, and Matt Coronato converted on the ensuing power play to cut Calgary’s deficit in half going into the third period.
It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise splendid second period, as the Blackhawks heavily outpossessed the Flames and had the better scoring chances between the two sides.
THIRD PERIOD
The Blackhawks were 5-0-0 when leading after two periods on the season entering Tuesday, while the Flames were 1-8-1 when trailing through 40 minutes. It felt like a perfect situation for Chicago to cruise through the final frame and pick up a seamless victory. But that’s not what happened.
Just over three minutes into the period, Rasmus Andersson roofed a shot over Arvid Soderblom’s glove to even up the score 2-2. Wyatt Kaiser committed a brutal turnover in the defensive zone, while the rest of the team was caught flat-footed on the sequence. All of a sudden, the Blackhawks two-goal advantage had disappeared.
Like they’ve done all season long, the Blackhawks didn’t blink in the face of adversity and responded right back to regain their lead. After another swift pass from Greene, Bedard rifled the puck past Wolf for his second goal of the game and 12th of the season to make it 3-2. The puck absolutely JUMPED off Bedard’s stick on this shot.
Andre Burakovsky➡️Ryan Greene➡️Connor Bedard🚨
Bedard double dips with a NASTY release for his 12th goal of the season! #Blackhawks jump right back ahead 3-2. Excellent crossing pass from Greene.pic.twitter.com/8zYpi7Zgtm
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 19, 2025
The Flames dished out some ugly hits in the first meeting back on Nov. 7, and they did the same on Tuesday in the rematch. The most egregious one of the night came from big forward Adam Klapka, as laid a dangerous hit on Connor Murphy into the boards with just under 10 minutes remaining. Murphy was stumbling as Klapka closed in for contact, and he appeared to hit the veteran defenseman up high with his check. Ilya Mikheyev, not normally involved in skirmishes, immediately stuck up for his teammate and immediately jumped Klapka. Somehow, there wasn’t a penalty called on the hit.
While the Flames had lost their focus, the Blackhawks capitalized and scored a crucial insurance goal down the stretch. Moore raced into the offensive zone and crashed the net with a purpose, and he received a friendly bounce for his second point of the game. The goal also gave Moore his first multi-point performance of the season and five points over the last six games.
Frank Nazar➡️Oliver Moore🚨
Moore races into the offensive zone & has the puck trickle through to extend the #Blackhawks lead to 4-2! Moore nets his 2nd NHL goal & 2nd point of the game. He now has 5 points over the past 6 games. Fitting in beautifully.pic.twitter.com/pBQXIMFqai
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 19, 2025
Calgary pulled Wolf for the extra attacker in the final moments, and Bedard jumped back on the ice for his bid at a hat trick. After briefly turning the puck over in the defensive zone, Bedard managed to regain possession and fired a shot from his own end into the yawning cage to pick up the hat trick. It’s his second three-goal showing in the last four games at the United Center, and also the second of his young NHL career. Make that 13 goals now on the season for Bedard.
What a way to cap off another electrifying night at the United Center! HAWKS WIN!
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