Bedard returns as Chicago tops Pittsburgh 5-3 at United Center

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

CHICAGO — Connor Bedard returned to action with an assist in his first game of the season, helping the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center on Tuesday.

Bedard missed Chicago’s first six games recovering from offseason shoulder surgery for an injury sustained in a training session on July 2. The team initially expected him to be out until November, but he had been skating with the club in a noncontact jersey since Oct. 5.

Offensively, Chicago received a major lift from Teuvo Teravainen, who finished with two goals and an assist. Rookie Roman Kantserov added two goals for the Blackhawks, who entered the night after losing two straight games. Spencer Knight made 24 saves for Chicago in the win.

The game also featured milestone production from Patrick Kane, who picked up his 894th career assist. With that helper, Kane tied Phil Housley for the all-time lead among American-born players.

Pittsburgh countered with early scoring from Sidney Crosby and additional production over the course of the night. Crosby scored his first two goals of the season, while Sergei Murashov made 15 saves for the Penguins. Erik Karlsson contributed two assists in the losing effort.

Chicago’s winning goal came late in the third period. Teravainen scored the game-winner at 15:42 when his shot from along the boards went in off Murashov. Tyler Bertuzzi then sealed the result by scoring into an empty net at 19:50 for the 5-3 final.

The Blackhawks opened the scoring quickly, taking a 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into the first period. Anton Frondell picked up the puck along the goal line and made a quick pass in front to Teravainen, who beat Murashov’s stick to put Chicago on top.

Pittsburgh answered at 6:57 to tie the game at 1-1. Crosby scored after taking a pass in the neutral zone from Karlsson, skating into the offensive zone, and firing a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.

Chicago regained the lead with help from special teams. Kantserov scored on the power play at 17:50, using a one-timer from the slot after Bedard’s touch pass from the left circle to the shooting area.

In the second period, Chicago pushed its advantage further. Kantserov scored again at 10:32, with defenseman Artyom Levshunov credited for the setup. Levshunov skated down the right side and passed the puck to Kantserov, who tapped it in while battling through contact with Penguins defenseman Ben Kindel. Kane earned the secondary assist on the play, further reinforcing his night of point production.

Pittsburgh pulled back at 17:51 of the second period when Nick Robertson brought the Penguins to within 3-2. Robertson poked in a rebound after Knight could not hold the puck following a shot by Blake Lizotte.

Crosby continued to drive the Penguins’ comeback attempt in the third period. He tied the game 3-3 at 9:17 by scoring his second goal of the night, finishing a rebound after a shot by Connor Dewar.

From there, the decisive stretch belonged to Chicago. Teravainen’s third-period goal at 15:42 broke the tie and gave the Blackhawks the lead for good. Bertuzzi’s empty-net goal at 19:50 then extended the advantage to the final margin of 5-3.

Bedard’s return remained a central storyline even though the game’s scoring was shared across multiple Chicago contributors. In addition to his role on Kantserov’s power-play goal, he was credited with the touch pass that set up the one-timer, and he also recorded an assist in the contest during his first appearance of the season.