It hasn’t been the best season for the Chicago Blackhawks, but they at least have Connor Bedard.
The rookie phenom has dominated in his first NHL season, leading all rookies in points despite missing a month of play due to a broken jaw.
Bedard is the future of the Blackhawks—if not the NHL—and opponents are starting to learn that there are just some things you can’t do against him and go unpunished.
On Sunday night, Bedard had two points in the game vs. the San Jose Sharks. But besides his goal and assist, he was involved in an incident with Sharks’ Calen Addison.
Addison did his best to get under Bedard’s skin. He first delivered a cross-check on Bedard’s lower back, which sent him down on the ice.
When Bedard was down, Addison sat on him and pinned him down to the ice, and Bedard could do nothing about it.
Bedard has been amazing to watch all year, but he isn’t the biggest and strongest guy out there, and when Addison started bullying him, he could do nothing but wait for his opponent to get up.
But it wouldn’t take long until he got punished for his actions. Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson noticed what was happening and immediately skated over to Addison and delivered a spear to his groin.
Spears can hurt pretty bad, and they can be dangerous as well. It was no mistaking that this was intentional by Johnson and with the clear intent of hurting Addison as a response to what he did against Bedard.
Johnson and Addison were sent to the penalty box, and just more than two minutes later, the Blackhawks tied the game 2-2. They went on to score three more goals, winning 5-2.
