On the night he notched his 100th career point, Blackhawks star Connor Bedard looked thoroughly defeated.
That’s life on the Hawks, who dropped their third consecutive game Monday — a 5-2 loss at home against the Flames — and keep falling further into last place in the NHL.
“It’s really frustrating,” Bedard said, slapping his thigh in exasperation. “We’re competitive athletes, and we take a lot of pride in our games, our group as a team and our fan base. It’s been hard. It’s been a lot of games to lose. It weighs on you. Yeah, I mean, [we’re] just trying to find a way out of it, trying to get better every day. But it’s hard.”
Bedard’s power-play goal in the second period of his 112th career game tied him with Jeremy Roenick as the seventh-fastest player to reach the 100-point mark in franchise history. The Hawks’ teenage cornerstone now has 20 points in 18 games under interim coach Anders Sorensen and appears on track to become a superstar.
For comparison, although Connor McDavid needed only 92 games to accumulate his first 100 points, Auston Matthews took 112 games — the same as Bedard — and reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon needed 143 games. Jack Hughes needed 160 games. Bedard’s production so far has been elite for this stage of his career.
Aside from Bedard, however, the Hawks look like a desolate wasteland. Even Sorensen, who has preached patience as far as seeing on-ice improvements, admitted he’s surprised they haven’t come yet.
“We would hope to see more progress by now, for sure,” Sorensen said.
The Hawks were never really in the game. They trailed 3-1 after the first period and never looked connected whatsoever in front of a meager United Center crowd of 15,966, their smallest since April 2023.
In many ways, it felt like a rock-bottom night. Then again, many nights have felt like that this season.
“We’re all in this as one, and we’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously,” Bedard said. “Our record shows that. No one’s powerless, whether you’re in the lineup, out of the lineup, coach [or] equipment manager. Everyone is pulling at the same rope. And that’s how we’ve got to approach it.”
Jones’ disaster
Defenseman Seth Jones’ slump devolved into crisis as he delivered another awful performance against the Flames. He was booed whenever he touched the puck later in the game.
In five-on-five play, Jones already had been on the ice for a team-high 13 goals against since Dec. 21 and was on the ice for three more Monday, including one where he couldn’t find the puck between his skates in the defensive crease. The Flames outshot the Hawks 13-6 during his five-on-five shifts.
Jones, the Hawks’ highest-paid player, also committed an inexcusable turnover on the power play in the second period, and the Flames promptly scored short-handed on the ensuing two-on-one rush. That goal squashed the Hawks’ brief hopes of a comeback.
Sorensen said the coaching staff hasn’t discussed the possibility of scratching Jones, as they finally did Monday with fellow defenseman T.J. Brodie — much to the fans’ delight. But Sorensen gave Jones only 16:19 of ice time, his lowest amount since joining the Hawks.
Anders Sorensen on Seth Jones, who was a minus-4 tonight in just 16:19 of ice time, his lowest as a Hawk:
“We all have to do some looking inwards, right? It’s not just him. I think it’s all of us.”
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 14, 2025
Mixed bag
Aside from Jones and Alec Martinez, the other four defensemen the Hawks dressed were all 23 or younger. Predictably, they gave the team a mix of good and bad plays.
Towering Louis Crevier, whose role has grown significantly under Sorensen, scored the Hawks’ opening goal, and Nolan Allan continued his solid recent play with some savvy breakout passes.
Wyatt Kaiser, however, failed to box out Matt Coronato on the Flames’ second goal, Alex Vlasic committed some defensive-zone turnovers and all the Hawks’ defensemen struggled to win battles or make quick-enough decisions against the Flames’ tenacious forecheck.
It’s worth noting that Allan ranks second among NHL rookie defensemen in games played (37) and points (eight). The offensive side of his game has grown recently. He had earned primary assists in each of the last two games before Monday.
“I don’t know if [offense is] going to be his bread and butter, but [it’s] nice to see,” Sorensen said about Allan. “It has been a pleasant surprise. When you can get contributions like that from him, that’s awesome.”