Blackhawks Daily: Bedard Nominated For Calder; Hurricanes Move On

Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard has been nominated for the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the National Hockey League. He is nominated alongside Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild and Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils. All three of these guys are going to remember fond rookie years but this is Bedard’s trophy.

Although it is impressive that Hughes and Faber tied for second in rookie scoring despite being defensemen, they didn’t have the impact on their team the same way Connor Bedard did.

Bedard is the youngest player in the NHL and he led a team in scoring. He also didn’t have a lot of depth around him so there was a lot of pressure on him to produce.

He had 22 goals and 39 assists for 61 points in 68 games played. Who knows how many points he would have had if the jaw surgery hadn’t kept him out for 14 games played? It was a fantastic year.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, four games took place around the league. The first one was the Boston Bruins hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. With a 3-1 lead and a chance to eliminate the Leafs, the Bruins couldn’t get it done. Matthew Knies won it in overtime to bring it to a game six.

In the second game, the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the New York Islanders. The Isles were able to get that one win and make it a little bit more respectable than a sweep but they were mismatched in the end anyway.

In the third game, the Colorado Avalanche brought their 3-1 series lead into game five against the Winnipeg Jets. The Avalanche were also able to close out their opponent with a win on the road.

The nightcap was the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. Like the three games before them, there was a team up 3-1 looking to take the series in five. That team is Vancouver who had Nashville’s back against the wall.

The third period started in a scoreless tie. For a potential elimination game on one side, it surely made it very entertaining to watch. Eventually, there were some goals scored. Nikita Zadorov gave Vancouver life at 3:11 in the third. It didn’t take long for Roman Josi to get it tied right back up at one about four minutes later.

Late in the third, Nashville stunned the city of Vancouver with a goal and they took the game 2-1 in regulation. Now, they will play game six with the Canucks leading 3-2. It is going to be a wild finish to this on.

Blackhawks In Case You Missed It

• The Chicago Blackhawks Blackhawks Daily: Bedard Nominated For Calder; Hurricanes Move On were lucky to have Philipp Kurashev in 2023-24. He took a big step forward in his development.
• Nikita Zaitsev has been a depth player for the Chicago Blackhawks but his time in town is probably done.
• “Two Truths and a Lie” about the off-season that Kyle Davidson is about to have with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Hockey Now Playoff Focus

• Vegas Hockey Now: The Vegas Golden Knights have allowed the Dallas Stars to take the home-ice advantage in the series back. It hasn’t helped either of them yet though.
• Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins blew game five in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs
• New York Islanders Hockey now: The New York Islanders have been eliminated from playoff contention as they fell on their face.