The Blackhawks rookie talked on Wednesday before Chicago's game with Winnipeg about his snazzy score in St. Louis on Saturday. Story with videos.
Connor Bedard says the key to scoring a lacrosse-style – or "Michigan" – goal is having enough time and space on the ice to pull it off.
Both Bedard and Anaheim's Trevor Zegras pitched in that rare, jaw-dropping score on Saturday night before the NHL's Christmas break. It earned the "Michigan" label for former Wolverine forward Mike Legg, who stunned the hockey world with his nifty goal in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
At St. Louis, Bedard had the puck alone behind the Blues net. The 18-year-old forward skated unscathed around the right side of the cage, scooped up the the puck on the blade of his Sherwood Rekker stick and tucked it into the upper-right corner.
There was enough room over left shoulder of goaltender Jordan Binnington, who was guarding the post at ice level with his left pad — as a goalie normally would.
Bedard still routinely plays all kinds of little skill games with the puck after practice, often with his pal, 19-year-old Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski.
Bedard: Can't Plan One of These
The goal in St. Louis was a rare opportunity that presented itself, Bedard said.
"I don't think it's something you go into a game really planning on," Bedard said. "It's so hard to get space like that behind the net. If it's there, I just see it as a good scoring chance.
"Obviously, it's fancier. But I think goalies are getting more use to it and reading it." See the following video.
It was Bedard's 13th goal, tops for NHL rookies entering Wednesday. His 30 points also paced the league's first-year players
“Talented play and I think it shocked all of us," St. Louis forward Robert Thomas said of Bedard's goal. "That’s a hard play to stop and it takes a lot of skill to do that at that speed.”
Bedard's goal at 3:49 of the first period tied the game at St. Louis at 1. The Blackhawks built a 5-2 lead in the third period, but then blew it in a 7-5 loss, their sixth in seven games.
Ready for Hockey Again
Bedard said he enjoyed the Christmas break in Chicago. His family from Vancouver flew in to join him.
After watching some games from the start of the IIHF World Junior Championship — where Bedard rewrote records last season — the rookie said he's ready to get back to work with the Blackhawks. See video.
Zegras scored his lacrosse-style goal against Seattle after missing 20 games with a lower-body injury.
With 5:59 left in the Ducks 3-2 loss to the Kraken, the 22-year-old Zegras skated behind the net and picked up the puck with his stick blade before whipping it over Joey Daccord’s shoulder from the goal line.