The NHL's top draft pick struck for two goals and two assists at Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard backhanded in two goals and set up scores by Tyler Johnson and Corey Perry in Chicago's 5-3 win over the Lightning at Tampa on Thursday night.
It was the first multi-point game in the NHL for Bedard, the league's top draft pick of 2023. He now has seven goals and four assists in 12 contests.
Bedard became the first Blackhawks rookie to record four points in game since Alex DeBrincat did it twice in 2017-18. At age 18 and 115 days, Bedard also is the youngest player in team history to score two goals in a contest.
Bedard downplayed the achievement, deferring to the play and support of his teammates as Chicago improved to 5-7-0
"The other guys did great things and I kind of got the benefits," Bedard said. "So it's obviously nice getting on the scoresheet, but there's a lot that goes into it."
Rookie and top Blackhawks defenseman prospect Kevin Korchinski scored his first NHL goal in the first period.
Bedard's Most Dominant NHL Effort So Far
Bedard finished with five shots on goal. He attempted four more; two missed and two were blocked.
The rookie narrowly missed a hat trick. Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson stopped Bedard on a prime shot from the slot with 8:07 left in the second. Bedard also had a chance from a scrum during a Chicago power play in the third.
Bedard tied the game at 1 with his first goal of the night, at 4:42 of the first. He slipped free from 6-foot-7 defenseman Victor Hedman at the right edge of the crease and tapped in Philipp Kurashev's feed off his backhand.
Korchinski tied it at 2 with 3:17 left in the first on a shot from the wing that deflected in of the skate of the Lightning's Darren Raddysh.
Bedard set up Johnson with a no-look backhand pass to finish a 2-on-1 break 45 seconds later and put Chicago ahead 3-2. The rush was created by a turnover by former Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan at center ice.
Bedard finished a 2-on-1 himself with linemate Nick Foligno with 8 seconds left in the period to increase the Hawks lead to 4-2. Bedard tucked a shot under Johansson's right pad with a nifty, close-in forehand-backhand move.
Bedard fed Perry for a goalmouth tip-in on a power-play 2:12 into the second to up Chicago's lead to 5-2.
Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos buried a rebound with 2:10 left and Johansson on the bench for an extra attacker to complete the scoring.
Chicago Fights Back
Led by Bedard, Chicago fought back and then took charge after a quick start by the Lightning.
Anthony Cirelli gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 during a power play just 3:20 in, then Bedard tied it 1:22 later.
NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov put the Lightning back in front at 12:31 with his 11th goal. Korchinski's score with 3:17 left in the first knotted it again and started a decisive run of four straight goals by Chicago.
"I thought we showed good patience and we kind of waited for mistakes," Bedard said.
Three For Fliggy
Bedard's left winger, the 36-year-old Foligno, recorded three assists. That included the neat set-up of Bedard's second goal.
Bedard's right winger, Kurashev, finished with two assists.
Brotherly Rivals
Chicago forward Taylor Raddysh played against his older brother, Darren, for the first time in an NHL game. The two skated together in a pair of NHL games with the Lightning in 2021-22.
The Blackhawks acquired Taylor Raddysh in March 2022 in the trade that sent Brandon Hagel to Tampa Bay. Chicago also got forward Boris Katchouk and first round draft picks in 2023 and 2024 in the deal.
Injury Report
Forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Taylor Hall and defenseman Jarred Tinordi left Thursday's game with undisclosed injuries.
Hall exited with about six minutes left in the third period after a collision with Michael Eyssimont and falling, and was favoring his knee.
Following the game, coach Luke Richardson didn't have an update on any of the three players.