Linemate and Blackhawks de facto captain Nick Foligno says Bedard can be scary if rookie "plays the right way." The 18-year-old has been doing that the past two games and has posted three goals and eight points in big Chicago wins.

In just two games, Connor Bedard has put himself back in position as the top Calder Trophy candidate and within reach of a point-per-game pace.

After going eight games without a goal and posting just four assists in the span, Bedard has three goals and five assists in his last two. The 18-year-old center leads rookies with 20 goals and 51 points in 52 contests. 

The last rookie to produce at a point-per-game was Pittsburgh's Sydney Crosby in 2005-06, churning out 102 on 39 goals and 63 assists at age 18. 

Crosby was one of Bedard's idols. And Bedard joined one of the coaches of that weak 2005-06 Penguins team, Eddie Olczyk, as the only 18-year-olds in Blackhawks history to reach 20 goals in a season when he scored and added four assists in a 7-2 rout of Anaheim on Tuesday.

Up and Downs of Rookie Adjustment

After missing 14 games with a broken jaw, Bedard bounced back with two goals and four assists in three contests after returning on Feb. 15. 

Then he entered his dry spell, looking a lot like a flustered teenager trying to beat NHL men all by himself with slick, but junior hockey moves. Some of the head bobs and slippery stick sleights-of-hand made for great video clips, but they didn't produce points, let alone contribute to wins for last-place Chicago. 

The Blackhawks were 1-5-2 in the stretch. Bedard's plus/minus rating sank. At minus-36 it's still second worst in the league, albeit on a team with a minus-90 goal differential.

"Playing the Right Way"

A team-based solution seems to be making the difference. 

"Five points was a great way to describe his night. I though he was dynamic with the puck and pretty elusive," coach Luke Richardson said on Tuesday. "But the best thing about it is I think his defensive game is getting better.

"By doing that, he gets the puck back even quicker because he's in the right spots. That's allowing him to have great line rushes with his teammates. No one has to be spread out or stretching or cheating or anything like that. It's just playing the right way and I think he's realizing that." See following video.

Granted, that's been in wins over Arizona and Anaheim, two weak teams that don't take away space and passing lanes like top defensive clubs. Bedard and the Blackhawks benefitted from 12 power-play chances, meaning more room, and Chicago scored five times with the man advantage in its past two.

Come Back To Support Below The Puck, Then Take Off

Bedard has been coming back to support, then getting the puck and driving the play.

"He's under the puck... He's not ahead of the play," veteran Nick Foligno said. "You can see he's understanding his positioning now as a centerman and as a player in this league to create offense, and then his natural abilities take over because of that.  

"That's what I'm thrilled about, watching him mature as a young man and a player in this league that's going to dominate for years to come, but understanding how he's going to do that. It's pretty scary because if he starts figuring it out and has nights like this, he's gonna' put the whole league on notice." See video:

Bedard has been clicking with linemates Philipp Kurashev and Foligno. 

The 24-year-old Kurashev had two goals and two assists on Tuesday. Foligno, 36, posted a career-high four assists including one that started with a hold-in on the boards and led to Bedard's score on a wicked one-timer two crisp passes later.

Bedard was passing through seams with lightning-quick reads for his three primary assists. He also fired away with five shots on goal and attempted six others that were blocked or wide. See video:

Bedard and the Blackhawks face a sterner test on Friday when they host the Los Angeles Kings. Chicago will try for its first three-game winning streak of the season against a team that's squarely in the hunt to a Western Conference playoff spot and has the league's third-lowest goals-against average.