Bedard, Chicago rally vs. Penguins
Connor Bedard did not disappoint in his NHL debut.
The Chicago Blackhawks rookie picked up an assist and dazzled occasionally with his skating as Chicago rallied past Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, 4-2, in Pittsburgh.
The 18-year-old Bedard, the top pick in the NHL draft, played over 21 minutes, often sharing the ice with Crosby, one of his idols. Bedard registered five of the 35 shots Chicago fired at Tristan Jarry.
Chicago trailed, 2-0, after Crosby began his 19th season by scoring his 551st career goal, a shot into an open net off a pass from Jake Guentzel 11:56 into the second period.
The Blackhawks roared back behind goals from Ryan Donato — with a secondary assist from Bedard — in the second period. Cole Guttman tied it midway through the third and Jason Dickinson gave Chicago the lead with 4:31 remaining. Nick Foligno’s empty-netter with 1:33 to go was enough for most of the sellout crowd that came to watch one of the NHL’s brightest stars take on one of its newest.
Petr Mrazek stopped 38 shots for the Blackhawks.
Crosby and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins, but fireworks, however, were hard to come by for the NHL’s oldest team. Jarry made 32 saves.
Lightning open with comeback
Jonas Johansson made 29 saves in his first start in place of the injured Andrei Vasilevskiy, Nicholas Paul had two third-period power-play goals, and the host Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Nashville Predators, 5-3, in the NHL regular-season opener. Johansson was signed to back up Vasilevskiy, but Vasilevskiy had back surgery two weeks ago and is expected to miss another six to eight weeks . . . Former NHL player and coach Barry Melrose is stepping away from his career as one of hockey’s most recognized analysts after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The announcement was made by ESPN, where the 67year-old has worked for all but six months since 1996 . . . The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season, including a ban on the use of rainbow-colored stick tape for the Pride nights that have become a hot-button issue.