Any team wants its top offensive players on the ice late in a game when trailing by a goal or two. Bedard, the NHL's leading rookie scorer, also is Chicago's top point-getter.
The Chicago Blackhawks are 9-20-1 and at the bottom of the NHL standings entering Tuesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Some of the losses haven't been close. Chicago has scored 70 goals while allowing 109, the second-worst goal differential in the league next to San Jose.
Some have been within reach, like a 4-3 home defeat to Vancouver on Sunday. The Blackhawks, led by NHL rookie scoring leader Connor Bedard, actually were buzzing and pressing the Canucks for a game-tying score in third period.
Bedard finished with a team-high 23:16 minutes of ice time and an extra workload down the stretch. He had 21 shifts with an average time of 1:06 per shift. The shift length is still a bit on the high side by NHL standards, even for an 18-year-old.
But by and large, Bedard has bought into shorter shifts than he skated — and could get away with — in the Western Hockey League, according to Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson. The Blackhawks second-year pilot plans to call Bedard's name more often, even for double-shifting, to drive Chicago's offense in certain situations. See following video.
Bedard had two assists against the Canucks, the team the North Vancouver British Columbia native followed growing up. He finished with five shots on goals and fired wide of Thatcher Demko's net on two others.
Bedard, who entered Tuesday with 12 goals and 26 points, enjoyed the extra work. He was disappointed the Canucks hung on for the win, however. See following video.