‘There’s frustration all the time:’ Blackhawks’ Bedard reacts to 9-2 loss

Chicago Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard scored a nice goal against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. His fifth of the year in 12 games thus far was reflective of the type of skill the 2023 No. 1 overall pick possesses.

Bedard reacted quickly to an odd bounce off the plexiglass that set him up with the puck all alone in front of goalie Pyotr Kochetkov,

But there was no celebration or reaction from Bedard after the goal, which cut the Hurricanes lead down to 7-2 in an eventual 9-2 loss to the champs that sent the Blackhawks’ record down to 4-13-1, six points back of the next-worst team in the Central Division.

“There’s frustration all the time,” Bedard told reporters, including Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, after the loss. “When you’re waking up, when you’re going to bed, you’re thinking about the record and the hole that we’re in… we still have that camaraderie and have that joy to be at the rink. But at the end of the day, it’s a results league and we’ve got to be better. There’s nothing else to it.

The Blackhawks were looking to make the leap from building to competing this season. Bedard got his big contract, and general manager Kyle Davidson made a huge splash when he dealt the No. 4 overall pick to the Buffalo Sabres to land defenseman Bowen Bryam. Davidson then made Byram the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL at the time.

Franchise legend Patrick Kane was brought back to provide scoring support, but the result has been a team that remains disastrous defensively and lacks offensive depth. Just four players on the team have scored more than two goals, and Byram has appeared in just six games, being held to one point and posting a minus-7 rating.

If the Blackhawks are going to act on Bedard’s frustration and try to rectify the season, now may be a good time. After Saturday’s loss to the Hurricanes, Chicago is idle until next Thursday.