Connor Bedard did whatever he wanted on the power play when he was playing with the Regina Pats in the WHL. He was anywhere and everywhere. He took care of entries. When he asked for the puck in the offensive zone, he got the puck. His teammates knew they’d get it back if he saw fit. It was his show, and it was a successful one; he produced 45 points, including 16 goals and 29 assists, on the power play in his final season in Regina.
That was never going to be the same in the NHL. Bedard has had to adjust in the NHL, from five-on-five to the power play, and has shown in his three-plus seasons he can figure out the NHL in a lot of ways. The power play appeared to be one of those areas two seasons ago. His 8.1 points per 60 minutes ranked 13th in the league. The Blackhawks had the seventh-best power play in the league that season, when Bedard was mostly on the power play with Seth Jones, Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teräväinen and Ryan Donato.
Bedard and the Blackhawks have trended in the other direction over the last two seasons. Bedard dropped to 5.23 points per 60 and the Blackhawks were 29th last season with a 16.9 percent success rate. In 11 games this season, Bedard is at 4.78 points per 60 and the Blackhawks have the league’s worst power play at 8.3 percent. (Bedard did miss the Blackhawks’ first six games due to injury.)
The Blackhawks’ power play woes were especially notable in their last two games, a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens and a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Blackhawks didn’t score on five power plays against the Canadiens and squandered seven power plays, including 1:28 of five-on-three time, against the Panthers. Both games were there for the Blackhawks’ taking, and both times their power play was a major reason for the loss.
Before we dive into the power play further, it is worth noting the Blackhawks have been without defenseman Bowen Byram, their power-play quarterback, for the last four games due to injury. He has also only played one game with Bedard, and in that one game, the power play scored on one of two chances against the Pittsburgh Penguins. What was different in the game, especially compared to the last two, was how quickly the puck moved and how often Bedard got the puck. On the opening power play, Byram passed it twice from the top of their power-play umbrella to Bedard on the left wing. Bedard struck a one-timer the first time. On the second time, Bedard quickly passed to Roman Kantserov in the bumper and Kantserov scored on a one-timer. The Blackhawks had their share of chances on the second power play of the game, too. So it is possible Byram’s return will be the magic cure for the Blackhawks’ power play. Time will tell.
Read the rest for free here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7726685/2026/10/27/blackhawks-power-play-analysis-kane-bedard/?unlocked_article_code=1.L1E.vlrs.nuW_QedV1-_J&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta