Chicago’s NHL team placed rookie centre Connor Bedard on injured reserve Saturday with a broken jaw.
Bedard got hurt when he was levelled by New Jersey defenceman Brendan Smith midway through the first period of Friday night’s 4-2 loss to the Devils.
Nick Foligno also went on IR with a fractured left finger, adding another name to Chicago’s long list of injured forwards. In desperate need of reinforcements, the club acquired forward Rem Pitlick from Pittsburgh for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
“We’re not sure how long [Bedard] and Nick will be,” head coach Luke Richardson said. “It’s just so fresh today, this morning, to get our people to look at them and make decisions going forward.”
The 18-year-old Bedard has been Chicago’s best player in his first NHL season, living up to the hype after he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Heading into Saturday’s action, he was leading all NHL rookies with a team-high 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games.
While there was no word on a timeline for Bedard’s return, the injury takes him out of the team’s upcoming game in his hometown of Vancouver on Jan. 22. It also means he likely will miss the Feb. 3 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, dealing a blow to the league.
“It’s definitely hard to kind of wrap our heads around,” teammate Ryan Donato said. “It’s so fresh still for us, to realize what’s going on. But we hope the best for him and hopefully we can keep him positive and keep the guys positive.”
Bedard was hit after he carried the puck into the offensive zone. Smith was not penalized on the play, but there was a series of skirmishes between the teams after Bedard departed.
Connor Bedard went to the locker room following this hit from Brendan Smith. <a href=”https://t.co/OUZyKCBCRx”>pic.twitter.com/OUZyKCBCRx</a>
Foligno, who has served as one of Bedard’s mentors in the veteran’s first season in Chicago, left the game after he fought with Smith in the second.
“I don’t know how many fights he’s been in this year, but of course it’s this one that he goes and gets hurt,” Dickinson said. “He’s tough, so I don’t think it’ll hold him out very long. As soon as he’s strong enough to hold a stick I’m sure he’ll be out there with us.”
Chicago has dropped five in a row, seven of eight and is 6-19-2 in its 27 games under Richardson, in his second season behind the team’s bench.
Chicago forward Boris Katchouk told reporters he felt it was a dirty hit but Richardson wasn’t convinced.
“I didn’t really see it too many times yet,” the coach said. “I just saw it quick on the bench. I don’t know if it was dirty. 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 into him.
“He obviously banged his head. We’ll get him checked out at home by our specialists to see if everything is OK.”
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Devils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Devils</a> Smith, Big Dman had elbows down, no head pick, does not leave his feet, textbook open ice hit. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Blackhawks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Blackhawks</a> Bedard, high value player, impact and result very unfortunate. <br>It’s a clean hit. Period. End of Story. Doesn’t change that it’s an UNFORTUNATE RESULT, but 100%… <a href=”https://t.co/nllhve5674″>pic.twitter.com/nllhve5674</a>
Devils bench boss Lindy Ruff felt Smith’s hit on Bedard was clean.
“It’s unfortunate where he got him” Ruff said. “At different times, all young players learn. … I learned the hard way, I got knocked out cold.
“You’ve got to be aware. There was no intent or anything. That was just a solid hit.”
Luke Richardson broke his jaw (took a slap shot to the face, “broke it right in half,” ) and had it wired shut as a player. He said he was out 5 1/2 weeks. Said it was a “pretty severe” one. Metal plates, 15 screws, etc.
After the all-star forward departed, there was a series of skirmishes between the teams.
Chicago defenceman Jarred Tinordi had words with Smith as the teams were skating off the ice after the first.
Blue-liner Alex Vlasic also fought with Devils forward Nathan Bastian as part of a general on-ice fracas with most of the crowd at Prudential Center to its feet.
At one point, there were four Chicago and three Devils in their respective penalty boxes.
Bedard and Foligno join a long list of injured players for last-place Chicago.
Fellow forwards Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist), Tyler Johnson (right foot), Taylor Raddysh (left groin strain), Joey Anderson (left shoulder) and Andreas Athanasiou (groin) are also out. Taylor Hall will miss the rest of the season after he had right knee surgery in November.
Seth Jones, the team’s best rearguard, is on IR with a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Dec. 10.
Pitlick, 26, has 21 goals and 54 points in 123 regular-season games with the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens. He has eight goals and 24 points in 32 contests this season with Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League.
With the deal, the Penguins now have nine picks in the 2026 draft.
Pittsburgh owns all seven of its selections in the draft as well as Chicago’s conditional seventh-round pick and an additional third-round choice acquired as part of the trade involving defenceman Erik Karlsson with the San Jose Sharks on Aug. 6.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves for his fourth career shutout and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Saturday night.
Nils Hoglander, Brock Boeser and Kyle Sherwood scored for the Canucks, who spoiled Philadelphia’s home opener and the first NHL home game for top Flyers’ prospects Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko.
The Canucks controlled play for most of the game and took advantage of Philadelphia’s defensive breakdowns for a pair of goals.
Samuel Ersson made 29 saves for Philadelphia, which lost its fourth consecutive game (0-3-1) after winning its season opener against the Canucks in Vancouver.
TAKEAWAYS
Canucks: Tyler Myers picked up an assist on a nifty, no-look pass to Boeser. It was Myers’ 1,000th NHL game. Myers also had three shots on goal, blocked a pair of shots, finished the game plus-1 and led the Canucks in total time on ice at 21:54.
Flyers: In another milestone game, Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier played in his 800th career game. However, the veteran centre was demoted to the fourth line and on the left wing by coach John Tortorella before the game. Once the Flyers fell behind 3-0, Couturier was shifted back to centre, but he couldn’t spark the team’s offence.
KEY MOMENT
Vancouver scored twice in 50 seconds in the second period to pull away. Sherwood’s goal was a one-timer off a faceoff win by Teddy Blueger to make it 3-0.
KEY STAT
Minus 11, the Flyers’ goal differential in five games this season at even strength. Through five games they have now been outscored 17-6 at five-on-five. All three of Vancouver’s goals on Saturday were at even strength.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Noah Dobson scored in the ninth round of the shootout to lead the New York Islanders to a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Bo Horvat, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee scored in regulation for the Islanders, and Dobson had two assists. Semyon Varlamov finished with 21 saves.
Cole Caulfield had two goals and Logan Mailloux also scored for Montreal. Cayden Primeau made 33 saves.
Palmieri and Simon Holmstron also scored for the Islanders in the shootout, and Oliver Kapanen and Emil Heineman tallied for Montreal.
Caufield forced overtime with 2:10 left in regulation to tie the score 3-3. It came 2:26 after Lee gave the Islanders the lead.
TAKEAWAYS
Canadiens: Mailloux scored his first NHL goal 59 seconds into the second period to tie the game 2-2.
Islanders: Entering the game, the Islanders’ 33 shots per game ranked third in the NHL but their average of 2.5 goals per game was 27th in the league. Horvat and Palmieri scored 2:26 apart late in the first period to give New York a 2-0 lead.
KEY MOMENT
Varlamov’s glove save on Caufield’s breakaway 5:44 into the second period kept the score tied 2-2.
KEY STAT
New York limited Montreal to 24 shots in the win. Through their first four games before Saturday night, the Islanders had held opponents to 29.3 shots per game, which was 13th in the NHL.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Islanders: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland finished 54 holes of the wind-delayed Shriners Children’s Open knowing he’ll have his best chance at winning since brain surgery more than a year ago. Best of all Saturday was being finished.
Woodland had three birdies over his final six holes and extended his bogey-free streak to 28 holes in polishing off a 6-under 65 that gave him a share of the clubhouse lead with Las Vegas resident Kurt Kitayama, who also had a 65.
They trailed J.T. Poston and Doug Ghim by one shot when play was suspended by darkness. Thirty of the 66 players who made the cut earlier Saturday did not finish.
Poston had an eagle during his closing stretch of the second round for a 65, and his only sub-par hole in the third round was an eagle on the par-5 ninth. It put him at 15-under par through 13 holes. Also at 15 under was Ghim, who had four straight birdies and was facing a five-foot par putt on the 17th hole when it was too dark to continue.
Woodland had surgery in September 2023 to remove a lesion on his brain, situated on a tract that caused fear and anxiety. It’s been a long road back of making progress with his health, getting dialed in on the right medication and trying to get his game in order.
He also went back to Randy Smith, the PGA Hall of Fame swing coach in Dallas. Now Woodland is sensing the pieces coming back together.
“I feel a lot better for one,” Woodland said. “That’s a huge help. But I’ve seen some signs. I’ve been back with Randy Smith for a couple months now. I am starting to drive it better, iron play, controlling the golf ball like I haven’t in a long time, which is nice. Then putts start going in, start putting some good scores up.
“I’m excited and happy to be here — and really happy to finish tonight so I can get some sleep tomorrow.”
The third round was to resume at 8 a.m., and Woodland likely will start around 11 a.m. That beats getting up before dawn, which he already has had to do twice this week.
Next to be determined is where he stands.
Harris English and Alejandro Tosti of Argentina also were at 14 under with four holes to play, including the reachable par 4 and the easiest of the three par 5s. Six other players were at 13 under and still had holes to play.
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., only completed 13 holes on Saturday and sits two shots back of the leaders. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 44th at 5 under. Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., is tied for 61st at 3 under.
The wind has calmed substantially from Friday, when gusts approached 50 miles per hour and led to a four-hour delay that caused the stop-and-start and the last two days being suspended because of darkness. A TPC Summerlin course that was all about hanging on is now back to being a test of who can make the most birdies.
“Conditions will be pretty easy. I think you saw that with some of the scores,” Poston said. “Guys are making birdies. So I think it’s just trying to stay aggressive but also stay patient if the putts don’t fall early because there is a lot of holes left.”
The second round didn’t end until about noon Saturday and the cut was at 3-under 139. Among those who missed was Tom Kim, the two-time defending champion who was trying to become the first player since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-11) to win the same PGA Tour event three straight years.
Also missing the cut were the three winners in the FedEx Cup Fall — Patton Kizzire, Kevin Yu and Matt McCarty.
