Bedard has two points in second game back from injury, Blackhawks edge Senators

CHICAGO (AP) — Jason Dickinson scored the tiebreaking goal off a rebound of his own shot with 1:52 remaining and the Chicago Blackhawks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Dickinson drove to the net and fired his team-leading 17th goal past Joonas Korpisalo as the NHL-worst Blackhawks ran their winning streak against Ottawa to 11 games.

“Simple as that, just keeping going to the net,” Dickinson said. “Our line was kind of just a work-hard group tonight. It wasn't always pretty for us, but just keep going to the net and good things are going to happen.”

Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist in his second game back from a broken jaw. Nick Foligno, one of Bedard’s linemates, also scored. The rookie center's other winger, Philipp Kurashev, had two assists.

Bedard, who has 16 goals and 36 points to lead NHL rookies, scored for the first time since connecting twice in a 2-1 overtime win against Winnipeg on Dec. 27. The 18-year-old Bedard had an assist on Thursday in a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh, his first game after being injured on an open-ice hit in New Jersey on Jan. 5. The NHL’s top draft pick of 2023 missed 14 games and nearly six weeks.

Bedard's return has given Chicago, with just 15 wins and 33 points, an immediate boost, on and off the ice.

“I think our guys feel confident that we have another weapon,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It just seems like when he comes downhill, it's like I think it's gonna go in every time.”

Petr Mrazek stopped 40 shots, including 21 of 22 in the second period.

“He's unreal,” Bedard said. “I mean some of the saves he makes are absurd. Just getting across (the crease), he's so quick and agile there.”

Tim Stützle had a goal and an assist and Jakob Chychrun, Richardson's nephew, added a power-play goal for Ottawa. Korpisalo made 19 saves as the Senators lost their second straight following a four-game win streak.

“Forty-four shots, whatever. It’s frustrating," Stützle said. "Doubled their shots and still got a loss. We deserved better tonight.

"We had a lot of guys playing good hockey tonight. We got a lot of shots through from the D. We’ve got to get some net-front presence maybe.”

The injury-depleted Blackhawks should get forward Anthony Beauvillier (broken left wrist) back in the next few days. The former New York Islanders first-round draft pick returned to full contact practice on Friday.

Chicago played without defenceman Connor Murphy (groin). Struggling 2020 first-round draft pick Lukas Reichel was a healthy scratch for the second straight game.

Ottawa defencemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub returned from lower-body injuries.

Referee Furman South was struck in the head with the puck with 5:13 left in the first period and left the ice bleeding. Play continued with one ref, Michael Markovic, before South returned to start the second.

Foligno opened the scoring with 6:31 left in the first, tapping in a feed across the crease by Kurashev. The play was keyed by a give-and-go between Kurashev and Bedard as they entered the Ottawa zone.

Stützle tied it at 1 just 2:28 later, completing a 2-on-1 and give-and-go with Claude Giroux with a tap-in of his own.

Chychrun scored a power-play goal from the right edge of the crease at 8:13 of the second to put the Senators ahead 2-1. Stützle dashed up the ice from behind the Ottawa net to draw the attention of Chicago’s defenders and create the backdoor chance.

Bedard tied it at 2 just under three minutes later, flipping off a shot from the left circle that slipped between Korpisalo’s pads. He was set up by Kurashev.

It appeared Bedard scored off Zub's turnover with 7:36 left in the third to put Chicago ahead. But, the goal was disallowed after a video review showed Bedard entered the Ottawa zone offside.

UP NEXT:

Senators: At Tampa Bay on Monday.

Blackhawks: At Carolina on Monday.