NHL rookie scoring leader Connor Bedard has empty-net goal and assist to increase point total to 53. Fellow rookie Kevin Korchinski with tie-breaking score as Chicago storms back with five unanswered.
The Chicago Blackhawks stormed back with five straight goals against San Jose — and lowered their chances at netting the NHL's No. 1 draft pick for a second straight year — with a 5-2 comeback win on Sunday.
The Blackhawks and Bedard reeled off five straight goals to come back.The Blackhawks and Connor Bedard, the league's top selection in 2023, entered the game battling the Sharks for last place in the NHL. The team that finishes 32nd in the 32-team league has the best odds at winning the draft lottery.
Bedard scored his first empty-net goal as time ran out to cap Chicago's rally and posted an assist to help start it. The NHL's leading rookie scorer upped his totals to 21 goals and 53 points in 54 games.
Bedard has four goals and 10 points in his last four games.
Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini, like Bedard last season, is a slam-dunk choice to be selected first in 2024. Still only 17, Celebrini has had a sensational freshman year with 30 goals and 25 assists in 33 games for the Terriers.
Chicago Comeback Versus San Jose
Ryan Donato, rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski and Joey Anderson scored in a 83-second span midway through the third period to rally Chicago to its third victory in four games.
Ryan Donato's goal was part of a late flurry.Philipp Kurashev connected with 5:58 left in the second to start the comeback as the Blackhawks bounced back from an early two-goal deficit. Chicago improved to 19-44-5 and 43 points, four more than dead-last San Jose at 16-44-7.
The Blackhawks rebounded after getting smoked 5-0 by Los Angeles on Friday. The Sharks are 1-11-2 in their last 14.
The smooth-skating, 19-year-old Korchinski said he and his teammates want to finish the season with a strong push. See video.
San Jose jumped ahead 2-0 on Sunday in the first period on goals by former Blackhawk Ryan Carpenter and Klim Kostin.
Carpenter fired in a rebound to complete a 2-on-1 at 10:33. Kostin scored from the doorstep with 3:28 left in the first after taking Mikael Granlund's feed from behind the net.
Klim Kostin scored to give San Jose a 2-0 lead.The line of Bedard, Tyler Johnson and Kurashev finally got Chicago on the board in this one.
Kurashev drove down the slot and scored his 14th goal on a nifty tip in of Johnson's centering feed. Bedard started the crisp passing sequence after entering the San Jose zone on left wing.
Donato tied it on a deflection at 10:39 of the third. Korchinski put Chicago ahead 3-2 at 11:51 on a screened shot from the blue line.
Anderson was credited with upping it to 4-2 just 11 seconds later when he dished the puck in front and it deflected in off San Jose defenseman Calen Addison.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said his team was able to generate sustained pressure after a sluggish start. He also credited Korchinski, a first-round, seventh overall draft pick in 2022, with a solid effort. See video.
Chicago's Petr Mrazek made 24 saves
San Jose's Devin Cooley, blocked 26 shots in his NHL debut. Cooley is a 6-foot-5, 26 year-old from Los Gatos, California, just south of San Jose. The Sharks acquired him from Buffalo at the trade deadline.
Odds Are...
The Blackhawks have maintained they want to "play the right way" to build winning habits.
What's at stake? The team that finishes 32nd in the 32-team NHL will have 25.5% chance of winning the 2024 draft lottery. The club in 31st place will have 13.5% chance. The No. 30 team will have 11.5% odds.
The Blackhawks won the lottery in 2023 — and the right to select Bedard — with the NHL's third-worst record.
Celebrini Powering BU
Like Bedard, Celebrini is from the Vancouver area. At 6-foot and 190-pounds, Celebrini is considered a power-forward as a collegiate player. He has more of a booming shot, rather than a deceptive, crafty one like Bedard.
Macklin Celebrini (left) in action for BU.Boston University has advanced to the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament and will face Maine this Friday. Currently at 25-8-2 overall, the Terriers also will earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, so Celebrini will play at least a few more collegiate games.
Celebrini is the first BU player to record 30 goals in a season since Chris Drury scored 38 during the 1996-97 season.
He's also just the fourth NCAA freshman since the turn of the century to notch 30 goals in a single season, joining Michigan's Adam Fantilli (30 goals, 2022-23), Minnesota's Thomas Vanek (31 goals, 2002-03) and Michigan's Kyle Connor (35 goals, 2015-16).