December 12th, 2025. That day saw the Chicago Blackhawks take on the St Louis Blues in what was a pretty big divisional game.
It would also see third-year franchise centerpiece Connor Bedard exit the game; with less than a second to go, Bedard would suffer an upper-body injury that would keep him out of action for almost a month.
He would later be placed on the injured reserve, a move which would not only end his chance at making Canada's Olympic roster, but also shelve him for four weeks. That stretch took Bedard and the Blackhawks through a meaningful stretch of hockey.
Heading into the St Louis game, which ended up being a 3-2 decision for the Blues, Chicago had won just three of its last eleven games. Following Bedard's demotion to the injured reserve, the Blackhawks would lose four more games; these would consist of a 3-2 loss to Toronto (which saw the Hawks lose a two-goal lead in the game's final ten minutes), a 4-1 loss to Montreal, a 6-4 decision against Ottawa, and a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia.
Since that 3-1 decision, the Blackhawks would earn points in six of their next seven games; of those six games, five of them would be Chicago victories. Even with the poor form taking place around Connor Bedard's injury, the team's run would get them back to the .500 mark; at 18-18-7, the Blackhawks would get their captain back off of injury just three points off of a playoff spot.
Despite losing two of their first three games with Connor Bedard back, including a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals and a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Bedard did have to sit out against Edmonton due to the flu. In addition, a shutout win on the road against Nashville, which sandwiched the two losses, would ultimately allow for the Blackhawks to maintain their three-point gap to the playoff spots heading into Monday's NHL action.
In all, the Blackhawks will enter January 13th on a 6-3-1 run, which is one of the league's better streaks at this time.
And with Connor Bedard putting up monster numbers in just his third season in the NHL, the Blackhawks will be slotting him back into the lineup at a great time. Through thirty-three games this season, Connor Bedard has scored nineteen goals while tallying twenty-seven assists. Not only has he already passed his career-low in power play goals, but the forty-eight points scored so far this year puts Bedard on pace to surpass his career-best tally: a sixty-seven point performance in the 2024-25 season.
The big question: can Chicago ride this momentum to steal control of a playoff spot before the Olympic break begins? The Blackhawks close out their ongoing home stand with games against the Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, and Winnipeg Jets; after a brief trip to play the Hurricanes, home games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers await. A February 2nd contest against San Jose could play a big role in influencing the playoff picture; this game sandwiches a two-game set against Columbus.
With eleven games left until the Olympic break, it's clear that Chicago has to start putting wins together once again. But much of that hope will rely on whether Connor Bedard can score at the same rate as before. While Bedard will have three days to rest up before taking on Calgary, he'll have to resurrect a Blackhawks side that has scored just five goals over the last three games.
If Connor Bedard can return to form and give Chicago some decent offensive output over the next three games, then it's very possible that the February 2nd contest against the Sharks could change the outlook of the playoff race. A win in that game will be the goal; however, Connor Bedard's return does inspire some confidence that Chicago can win at least five games before going on break, allowing the team to potentially remain in the playoff picture heading into the final twenty-five games of the year.