The moment Connor Bedard went to the locker-room Friday, you knew there'd be no shortage of opinions on the hit that took the Chicago Blackhawks rookie phenom out of the game against the New Jersey Devils.
Interestingly, there were mixed opinions from members of the Blackhawks organization about Brendan Smith's open-ice hit on Bedard that ended the latter player's night in the first period.
The five-foot-10 Bedard, carrying the puck into the Devils' zone, grabbed his mouth area after the hit by the six-foot-two Smith. There was no penalty on the play.
“Everybody saw it, it’s dirty. I think that’s dirty," Blackhawks forward Boris Katchouk said, per video first posted by Phillip Thompson of the Chicago Tribune.
However, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson didn't see it the same way.
"I don't know if it was dirty," Richardson said. "I think Connor was reaching for a puck and didn't see him because he was behind one of their players. I don't think he stepped up on him. I think he just kind of stopped and Connor kind of ran head first right into him. I don't think it was intent to hit or anything. I think he was just playing hard on the blue line and trying to keep the puck out on the penalty kill."
Still, the Blackhawks showed their displeasure after the hit as the game turned quite rough, including a fight between Nick Foligno and Smith. Foligno exited after the fight with an injury.
"He's coming in lots of speed. I was kind of flat-footed so that's kind of like my only play," Smith said of the hit on Bedard.
"They're protecting their star player," Smith added of the rough stuff. "I totally get that.
"In my mind, that's a clean hit. But it's a big boys' league out there. He's a smart player, he'll learn from it for sure. I hope he'll have a quick recovery and he'll be OK because he's an exciting player. People jump in and step up, I think that's a great part about the game."
The Blackhawks gave no further update on Bedard after the game.
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