Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard is trending toward making his season debut Tuesday against the Penguins after taking part in another full practice Monday, coach Jeff Blashill said.
Bedard’s return after just six games missed — about half as many as his initial recovery timeline suggested — should inject talent, fire and life into almost every aspect of the struggling Hawks.
The power play sits at the top of that list. It desperately needs a spark after two toothless weeks, and Bedard’s return would represent a big one.
Bedard will slot in on the left side of the top power-play unit, allowing Patrick Kane to shift back to the right, where he has spent the vast majority of his career. That positions both players to fire one-timers off passes from Bowen Byram (at the point), Roman Kantserov (in the bumper) and Tyler Bertuzzi (down low).
The Hawks previously had only Anton Frondell in a one-timer position, and Bedard’s return will bump him down to the second unit.
‘‘For sure, Bedard on the power play [is] a mega-weapon,’’ Blashill said. ‘‘You lose Frondell, who I think is going to be a mega-weapon. There’s still a learning process. I think Anton has played great hockey, but on the power play, he hasn’t played great. He’s played OK, and he’s not alone in that.’’
Jeff Blashill on Connor Bedard:
“He came back last year and still had restrictions on him: no faceoffs and things like that. There’s mental hurdles involved with that. With this one being surgically repaired, it’s in a great spot.”
But he cautioned it’s “not easy to just jump…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 12, 2026
The Hawks’ power play is 1-for-14 right now. Their lone goal came from Sam Rinzel on the second unit. They’ve attempted only 23 shots on those 14 opportunities, and only 10 have made it on goal. They also have allowed six short-handed shots on goal and one short-handed goal. Those are awful numbers.
Blashill pointed out the power play has set up great looks for Byram in each of the last two games, only for Byram’s stick to snap in both instances. Luck, of course, plays a role in any hot or cold streak. Nevertheless, things need to change.
Kane insisted Monday he ‘‘didn’t feel too bad on the left’’ side of the power play, but he admitted the unit in general has felt ‘‘a little bit off.’’ He’s certainly not upset about moving back to the right.
He also mentioned how penalty kills have improved at eliminating seam passes from one flank to the other since the earlier years of his career. Moving the puck from side to side now usually requires using the point man, and Bedard’s and Kane’s handedness should help Byram with that.
‘‘It’s a little easier for me, having two forehands on each side,’’ Byram said. ‘‘Teams pressure hard, so even those extra couple of inches . . . makes a big difference.’’
Power-play success in 2026 often involves getting initial shots through on goal, then retrieving rebounds and loose pucks to generate second and third chances. Kane said he doesn’t think the Hawks have done that well enough.
‘‘We [would] get the first chance, and then it would be down the ice,’’ he said. ‘‘And then you break out and get another chance, and it would be down the ice. We weren’t able to really have sustained pressure.’’
Blashill disagreed with that somewhat, blaming the power-play struggles on ‘‘unforced errors’’ and inaccurate passes more than on a lack of retrievals, given that Kantserov and Bertuzzi are decent retrievers.
He also mentioned winning faceoffs and breaking into the zone cleanly as other keys.
Anecdotally, the Hawks’ break-ins haven’t looked smooth. And data shows they’re struggling on power-play faceoffs, ranking 29th in the NHL at 40.7%. That’s even worse than their overall faceoff percentage of 42.4%, which ranks last.
Blashill critiqued the NHL’s unreliable faceoff tracking, but those numbers match what one would expect from the Hawks’ inexperienced cast of centers. That’s another area in which Bedard’s return could be of major help — provided his faceoff success continues on the upward trajectory he set last season, that is.