Connor Bedard, top Blackhawks forwards, get night off vs Wild in Minnesota

Connor Bedard and other top Blackhawks players stayed in Chicago while a "B-List" roster of veterans and prospects skated against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Saturday night in the team's second preseason game

Among those not making the trip: Taylor Hall, Ryan Donato, Lukas Reichel, Andreas Athanasiou, Seth Jones and Connor Murphy. Philipp Kurashev has a left wrist injury (banged up) and is day-to-day.

The Blackhawks fell 3-2 in overtime at the Xcel Energy Center when Minnesota's Connor Dewar beat Arvid Söderblom on the first shot of the extra frame, 21 seconds in.

Tyler Johnson fired a rebound of Taylor Raddysh's shot past Minnesota's Filip Gustavsson with 1:03 left in the third period to tie it at 2 and send it to OT. Söderblom, who played the entire game and stopped 29 shots, was on the bench for an extra attacker.

MacKenzie Entwistle scored Chicago's first goal, 1:06 into the first period. Boris Katchouk had two assists.

The Blackhawks next play against the Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday night.

Sam Savoie, a feisty 19-year-old left winger suffered an apparent serious injury late in the second period when he lost his balance and slammed into the boards while chasing down a loose puck with Minnesota defenseman Alex Goligoski.  

Savoie tried to squeeze around Goligoski, but slid feet first into the boards. The native of Moncton, New Brunswick was clearly in pain and had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher. See the play from NBC Sports Charlie Roumeliotis  at: https://x.com/CRoumeliotis/status/1708279900262576357?s=20

After the game, coach Luke Richardson said Savoie was being evaluated for a lower-body injury.

Because he's only 19, the well-liked Savoie was probably headed back to his junior team, the QMJHL Gatineau Olympiques for a fourth season.

Bedard assisted on both Chicago goals in a 2-1 overtime win over St. Louis on Thursday to open the preseason. The center was very noticeable, just not dominant, as he flashed some moves and took five shots in a game he called "scrambly." 

Bedard and some teamates did hang around to for extra shooting after practice in Chicago on Saturday. See the video from Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune. https://x.com/_phil_thompson/status/1708152991792930846?s=20

Here's who was noticeable against the Wild:

Top defenseman propect Kevin Korchinski  skated in a second straight game, logging a team-high 22:26 of ice time. So did rookie D-man Nolan Allan who played 19:58. The two Saskatchewan natives were teammates last season on the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds and joined Bedard on Canada's gold medal winning WJC squad.

Korchinski can't be sent to Rockford this season of the AHL because he's only 19. He must play either for the Blackhawks or return to Seattle and is getting every chance to start 2023-24 in the NHL.

The 20-year-old Allan could be assigned to the IceHogs. Richardson likes the gritty Allan, but has hinted the 5-foot-10, 180-pound D-man probably needs a year of minor-league experience. Richardson puts 20-year-old defenseman Ethan Del Mastro, who skated against the Wild, in the in the same category.

Isaak Phillips seems stronger this season and had 19:01 of ice time on Saturday. The 6-foot-3 defenseman spent most of last season with Rockford, but appeared in 20 games with the Blackhawks over two stints.

Colton Dach, another 2023 Canadian WJC squad member, skated on a line with Savoie (a potential francophone Andrew Shaw?) and Paul Ludwinski. The 6-foot-4, Dach, a second-round pick (62nd) in 2021, is known for his shot and took four in this one.

Taylor Raddysh, one of only two 20 goal scorers on the Hawks last season, was visible in his first action this season, logging 21:52 of ice time and firing off five shots. Raddysh is heading into a contract year and his current deal pays just $758,333. 

He was on a line with Cole Guttman, who was one of the best Chicago forwards on Saturday as he comes off right shoulder surgery. Johnson was on the other wing.

Söderblom was solid in the start, although he might have overplayed Dewar's game-winner. Mitchell Weeks was the backup.