Deservedly so, Connor Bedard will get a lot of headlines and go viral after what he pulled off Wednesday. Scoring twice, including the overtime game-winner to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 win over the Jets, will do that.
But he and the Hawks wouldn’t have had a chance to steal a victory from Winnipeg if not for goalie Petr Mrazek and his 37 saves.
“Petr’s been great for us all year and I think getting him that goal in overtime was really deserving because he kept us in there tonight for sure,” coach Luke Richardson said. “We didn’t have our greatest start, we were a little bit rusty after a few days off. But the penalty killing was big and that’s part of Petr as well.”
The Hawks’ penalty kill went 4 for 4 as Mrazek was blistered by one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Mrazek did get some help - Winnipeg hit iron multiple times - but he showed again that he’s one of the Hawks’ best players.
Improved health from last season has helped.
“Just be healthy. That’s No. 1 thing and we talked about it earlier as well,” Mrazek said. “When I feel good, I know I can play the game how I want to play. Things we’re doing with [goaltending coach] Jimmy [Waite] on the ice during practices helps. That gets you a lot of confidence.”
The Hawks needed a boost of confidence after Saturday’s meltdown in a 7-5 loss to the Blues. Coming off his “Michigan” goal, Bedard provided the offensive punch and helped the Hawks move on from an ugly defeat.
“It was a competitive game there, really good team,” Bedard said. “And they play the right way. Just kind of we had to really stick with it and it’s good to pull out the two points for sure.”
Richardson summed things up.
“Both ends of the ice were solid, with Petr and Connor leading the way,” he said.
