Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist to back a 35-save effort from Petr Mrazek and lift the host Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar also scored for Chicago, which ended an eight-game point streak for Colorado (7-0-1).
Avalanche goaltender Trent Miner had 17 saves in his first NHL start. Miner appeared in relief during a Nov. 15 loss against Washington. He rejoined the team this week after Scott Wedgewood (lower body) was placed on injured reserve.
Colorado opened the scoring at 6:14 of the first period on a Juuso Parssinen unassisted goal. The forward raced from the defensive zone and beat Mrazek on a backhand from the low right circle.
Mikheyev tied the game 10:34 later, swooping in front to beat Miner after Bedard forced a turnover. Bedard extended his career-best point streak to eight games with the assist. The sophomore has tallied four goals and seven assists over that span.
While Mrazek buoyed the Blackhawks throughout the night, he played especially well during a 12-save second period.
A power-play opportunity for the Avalanche early in the frame featured key saves against Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen. The Blackhawks netminder also helped keep the game tied with a solid sequence midway through the period while benefiting from help when defenseman Seth Jones swept a puck off the goal line.
Chicago took a 2-1 lead moments later, as Nazar drove home a rebound of a Colton Dach shot at 10:17 of the second period. It marked Nazar’s first goal of the season and the first career point for Dach, who skated in his third game after joining the Blackhawks from the American Hockey League.
Replay review overturned an apparent Bedard goal about two minutes later as officials determined there was a kicking motion. His persistence paid dividends at 11:54 of the third period as he scored on a wrist shot from the right circle off a feed from Tyler Bertuzzi.
Mikko Rantanen’s 14-game point streak (nine goals, 14 assists) ended for the Avalanche as MacKinnon saw his eight-game point streak (one goal, 15 assists) come to an end as well.
Chicago earned at least a split of the season series with Colorado following a 5-2 road victory Oct. 28. The teams are set to meet again March 10 at Colorado and April 2 in Chicago.
–Field Level Media
