Connor Bedard says thumping hit on Patrick Kane was ‘just a finishing check’

Ahead of the first meeting, Connor Bedard said: Patrick Kane With a respectful nod, he nods to his place in Chicago Blackhawks lore as a living legend.

That doesn’t mean Bedard couldn’t give him a good slap during the match.

That’s exactly what the Hawks did during a 3-2 overtime loss to Kane and his new team, the Detroit Red Wings, on Sunday.

Hawks forward Nick Foligno didn’t see it until coaches showed a clip later, but joked that if he had noticed Bedard hitting Kane in real time, “I would have given him a little more support.”

But according to Bedard, this hit was just a hit.

Connor Bedard kind of revealed Patrick Kane… pic.twitter.com/3li1vKaebT

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) February 26, 2024

“I just finished a check,” Bedard said Wednesday. “I don’t think it’s actually a big story. Apparently it was Kane. “It was just a regular hockey game and I guess that’s what happened in the end.”

Normal? It was literally a clash of eras; The 2007 No. 1 draft pick has been swept off his feet, but the next-gen phenom is the 2023 No. 1 draft pick.

Can’t Bedard see this?

“Of course I understand,” the 18-year-old said. “I’m just saying from my perspective, this is just finishing a check. I guess it’s funny that it ended up being him. From our perspective, we don’t think of it that way. But of course (people react) with the No. 1 pick or something like that.

Gazi knew what to do at that moment.

“They got a little physical with me in the corner,” Kane joked after the match. “He’s lucky he had the balloon on, otherwise I would have been going after him,” referring to the face shield Bedard wore while his jaw was fully healed from surgery.

Bedard appreciated his understanding response and Kane’s game-winning goal in extra time.

“I’m sure it’s not too serious,” he said. “It was funny. Like I said before, just a normal game. …

“I realized he was the one having the last laugh on us, but it was nice to hear (him) make a joke about it.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t too serious. … I heard about it and thought it was pretty funny. He had the last laugh on us, but it was nice to hear it in a joking way.”

—Connor Bedard on Patrick Kane saying he would have retaliated for the hit if it weren’t for Bedard’s “bubble” mask pic.twitter.com/saVtVKsMjc

— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) February 28, 2024

Here are three more things we learned from Hawks practice:

1. Falcons learn lessons from the Night of Chelios.

Chris Chelios’ retirement Sunday’s game at the United Center was still echoing in the locker room Wednesday.

“It was pretty electric in there,” Bedard said. “Obviously we didn’t want to end it this way (with a loss) but it was nice to have the jersey retired and Kane back so it was a fun night to be a part of.”

Anthony Beauvillier said: “It was great, the night was amazing, the match, the ceremony before and Patrick’s return, the video he shot was incredible. I think it says a lot about the fans we have and what kind of a city this city is.” .”

As a defenseman who grew up in Northbrook, Jaycob Megna felt a special connection to the Hawks retiring Chicago native Chelios.

“I was very young when he was in Chicago,” Megna said. I saw him a little bit when he was with the Wings, but I knew him. He was a great player and played for so long that you’re lucky to get a year or one game in this league, and he did that until he was almost 50.”

Chelios finished his NHL career with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010 at the age of 48.

Photos: Chicago Blackhawks retire Chris Chelios’ No. 7

“It was pretty cool to be a part of that ceremony, too,” Megna said Tuesday. “He seems like an incredible guy. We all met him afterwards, which was very cool and definitely special, being a hometown kid.

Not only does Chelios exemplify grit and dogged hockey for the current Hawks, but several guests at the jersey number retirement ceremony are Hawks royalty: Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp and Marián Hossa — not to mention Kane received his award. It’s my own tribute and I’m playing for the Red Wings in that game.

Bedard acknowledged it’s “still pretty early” in the Hawks’ rebuilding process, “but we want to win and obviously we need to see a lot of the guys from the last dynasty. Kane, Seabrook, Keith, Sharp, Hossa, a lot of those guys have been there. We’ve seen them emerge.” seeing…the bond between them.

“You can’t bond better than when you win together. We want to do this too. We want to be a winning team. The ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup. We work for this every day.”

“…we got to see a lot of the guys from the last dynasty, too: Kane, Seabrook, Keith, Sharp, Hossa, a lot of those guys were there. … You couldn’t find a better bond when you win together. That’s what we want to do.”

—Connor Bedard on Hawks during Chris Chelios’ retirement pic.twitter.com/7bAvKCwWFy

— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) February 28, 2024

2. Revisiting Kane’s stoppage time goal.

Coach Luke Richardson fully acknowledges what the Hawks did wrong during Friday’s overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

“Nick (Foligno) went and tried to catch the puck and (he) tried to pass low. It’s too low a percentage of play to try to do anything offensively.”

Richardson said Foligno needs to circle to create a Grade A chance. He couldn’t make it and lost the puck and Kyle Connor scored at the other end.

There was no second guessing against the Red Wings. Seth Jones had two cracks at the game-winner but couldn’t make it.

“That was a Class A chance for me to have Seth there,” Richardson said. “Could he give it to (Philipp) Kurashev, who opened for once? Maybe. But he is right-handed, uses his forehand and is in the top scoring zone.

“This is the right decision to take him to the net and shoot. Unfortunately (Kane) was behind the play and knew he couldn’t help the defence, so he just stood there hoping (James Reimer) would make the save.

HE DEFINITELY DID! 🤩

On his return to Chicago, Patrick Kane (@88PKane) networks @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/0sazlTuJp5

— NHL (@NHL) February 26, 2024

Kane took the puck from fellow former Hawk Alex DeBrincat on a breakaway and beat Petr Mrázek one minute, 43 seconds into overtime.

Kane had a big breakout at the United Center, but he never wore an enemy uniform.

“DeBrincat took the puck and went the other way (to Kane),” Richardson said. “So compared to the Winnipeg game, we can say that it was a step in the right direction. We made the right decision by shooting in the best scoring area, but it didn’t work.”

3. Nikita Zaitsev is showing signs of progress.