Connor Bedard makes surprise early return, earns assist in Blackhawks’ loss to Penguins

Connor Bedard is back.

Nearly six weeks after injuring his jaw but nearly a week before the date the Blackhawks estimated as his earliest possible return, the star rookie center slid into the lineup Thursday night in a 4-1 loss to the Penguins at the United Center.

Back on the first line with Philipp Kurashev and Nick Foligno, Bedard looked cautious in the first period but found his mojo as the night progressed. He finished with one assist and four shots on goal in 21:17 of ice time in his first game since Jan. 5.

“I was pretty antsy all day,” Bedard said. “I was running around all the time like a kid. I was just excited to get back. I felt good going in; confident. … It’s what I love to do and it’s all I really want.”

Penguins star Sidney Crosby dominated from the opening faceoff, scoring 15 seconds in — after beating Bedard on the opening faceoff — and adding another goal in the third period that gave the Penguins a multi-goal cushion for good.

Bedard was arguably the second-best player on the ice, though, and although he wasn’t perfect — especially when passing up a golden shooting opportunity in the third — he added a lot more firepower to a team desperately in need of it.

Particularly after the first intermission, he looked as confident as ever, driving the net and maneuvering around defensemen with his usual creativity and swagger. He and Kurashev connected on the Hawks’ lone goal and teamed up on another four or five solid scoring chances.

“Every day…you could see he wanted to go, wanted to go,” Kurashev said. “Finally, they let him. It’s good to have him back.”

On Monday, Hawks coach Luke Richardson had said Bedard wouldn’t be ready until next week, partially because he believed he would need a few full practices to get back up to speed once cleared.

Bedard had been practicing in a non-contact jersey for weeks, maintaining his skating, shooting and conditioning. His face and jaw hadn’t been banged at all within his “bubble” shield since Devils defenseman Brendan Smith delivered the hit that injured him Jan. 5.

His status changed quickly within a 24-hour span Wednesday and Thursday. He had two doctors’ appointments Wednesday in which imaging showed his jaw had fully healed, allowing him to receive his final medical clearances. He met with Richardson, general manager Kyle Davidson and associate GM Norm Maciver later that afternoon, trying to convince them to let him play Thursday.

“We talked about if he needed another full practice [before he could] come in on Saturday [against the Senators], and it was, ‘No,’ ” Richardson said. “We said, ‘Well, you have to go through a morning skate with some contact drills and some battle drills.’ And he was fully, ‘I’m ready for that.’ ”

Considering Bedard, 18, had been toeing the line between impatient and eager for weeks, dating to when he begged the Hawks to let him skate just a week after surgery, that wasn’t exactly surprising. But the fact his pitch succeeded reflected how much the Hawks already trust his judgment.

When he didn’t shy away from anything in the morning skate — including hard turns into body checks, some of which were delivered by Richardson himself — he was given the final green light.

“[We] talked to him about protecting himself a little bit out there, as everyone should,” Richardson said. “He’s a puck-possession guy, so his stick is on the puck on the ice a lot of times. He’s got to be aware, especially this time of year. It’s fast.”

Bedard will continue to wear the bubble mask for some time, but he has experience playing while wearing it, so it shouldn’t throw him off. He dealt with typical contact during the game, including a blatant trip that should have been penalized, but looked unfazed.