The first time Connor Bedard was injured, the Blackhawks put one of the most toothless offenses ever witnessed in the modern NHL on the ice.
That was in January and February 2024, when a rookie Bedard missed 14 games because of a broken jaw. The Hawks somehow won their first game without him before going 2-10-1 during the rest of his absence, scoring only 17 goals during that span — a pitiful 1.3 per game.
The supporting cast around Bedard is better this season but not dramatically so. The forward unit almost certainly will be one of the weakest in the NHL for as long Bedard is sidelined.
How long that will be remains unknown. Head coach Jeff Blashill provided no update Saturday, restating that he’ll know more Monday before the Hawks embark on a three-game trip to eastern Canada.
It looked like a potentially significant injury when Bedard, wincing in pain, hustled off the ice holding his upper right arm or shoulder Friday in St. Louis, but the apparent and actual severity of injuries often can differ greatly — for better or worse.
Blashill absolved Blues center Brayden Schenn — Bedard’s opponent on the last-second faceoff — of any culpability, clarifying that Bedard got ‘‘injured before any push happens.’’
The Hawks moved swiftly to fill the gaping hole in their top six by calling up promising forward prospect Nick Lardis.
Lardis, 20, racked up 26 points in 24 games at Rockford, ranking sixth in the AHL in scoring. That was a similar rate to Frank Nazar’s 24 points in 21 games last fall. Coincidentally, they ended up being called up on the same day: Dec. 13.
Intrigue around Lardis, formerly a nondescript third-round pick, skyrocketed during his historic 71-goal performance in the Ontario Hockey League last season, but he managed to exceed even the heightened expectations in his transition to the AHL this fall.
‘‘[When] you see his shot, it’s special, no matter what age you are,’’ Rockford coach Jared Nightingale said in November. ‘‘He can score in a variety of ways — [off] the rush and obviously [on] the power play. I think he’s just as good a passer, too. Nick is a special player.’’
Lardis still needs more time to build up strength and refine his defensive acumen, which is why the Hawks initially planned to keep him in Rockford for most — if not all — of this season. With this sudden opportunity, however, it makes sense to find out what he can achieve right now.
If he proves to be not quite ready, he always can go back to Rockford. But if he can translate his gifted goal-scoring to this level, he just might be the miracle the Bedard-less Hawks offense needs.
Because they very much need a miracle.
Entering play Saturday, Bedard had scored or assisted on 48.4% of the Hawks’ goals this season (44 of 91), the second-highest percentage in the league to that of Sharks star Macklin Celebrini (49.4%). In Bedard’s last 13 games, that percentage was up to 56.3%.
The Hawks will be more prepared to handle inevitable injuries next season, once Lardis has more pro experience and once fellow top forward prospects Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov have come over from Europe to the NHL. As currently constructed, however, they lack game-altering stars.
Tyler Bertuzzi (26 points in 28 games entering Saturday) and Andre Burakovsky (21 in 26) are solid secondary pieces, but their skills were sought because they complement Bedard, not because they can take over games themselves. An engine doesn’t work without its piston.
Nazar, who has played better lately but hasn’t replicated his October productivity, will be asked to be the piston for now. He was moved up to first-line center between Bertuzzi and Burakovsky.