Anthony Beauvillier sparks Connor Bedard in Blackhawks’ loss to Jets

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Anthony Beauvillier is a restricted man at the moment.

While he waits for his U.S. work visa to be processed, the Quebec native and new Blackhawks forward has to stay in Canada. That meant he couldn’t join the Hawks on Thursday in Detroit, and he also won’t be able to play Sunday in Minnesota. He’s hoping to receive it Monday.

But he was able to make his Hawks debut Saturday in Winnipeg, even though his presence wasn’t enough to save his new team from a 3-1 loss to the Jets — the Hawks’ 15th defeat in the two teams’ last 18 meetings.

“He hasn’t played a lot lately and he’s been off a few days in between the trade, [so he] — a couple of times — looked a little winded, as you could expect,” coach Luke Richardson said. “But obviously [he looked] excited too, so there’s that extra energy.”

Richardson coached Beauvillier back in 2017-18 with the Islanders, Beauvillier’s second year in the NHL, and saw him develop strong chemistry with Mathew Barzal. Barzal backed up that claim himself, texting Connor Bedard this week to let him know Beauvillier would be a “difference-maker” for the Hawks.

So naturally, Beauvillier slotted directly onto Bedard’s left wing (opposite Philipp Kurashev) on the first line Saturday, logging 16:55 of ice time — already his second-biggest workload of the season, since he had slipped into a bottom-six role this fall in Vancouver.

“He’s got a lot of speed and he can shoot the puck, [so] it makes sense to put him with guys that can make plays and shoot the puck themselves,” Richardson said.

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That line was by far the Hawks’ most dangerous and explosive trio on an afternoon when offense was scarce.

On their first shift, Bedard — from behind the net — fed Beauvillier cutting into the slot, but his shot went barely wide. On their second shift, a Kurashev shot deflected to the far side and Bedard scored off a one-timer from an awkward spot between his skates, snapping a four-game goal drought.

In the second period, Bedard made one of his craziest and prettiest passes yet with a backhand dish, all the way across the offensive zone, directly onto Kurashev’s tape. And in the third period, Beauvillier nearly scored after rebound bounced off the end boards and into the crease.

The Hawks finished with a 12-7 advantage in scoring chances during that top line’s five-on-five ice time — compared to 17-12 scoring-chance deficit otherwise. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped everybody but Bedard, though.

“[It’s] a lot of fun playing with these two guys,” Beauvillier said. “[They’re] both smart players who can make a lot of plays at high speed. I’m just trying to win them some pucks and trying to get to the net. There’s definitely some stuff we have to build on, but overall [we were] pretty good, connecting some good passes and going up the rush.”

The Hawks will certainly be rooting for Beauvillier’s immigration issues to clear up quickly. He’s not a star, but he should provide some help, as Saturday showed.

He and injured Andreas Athanasiou are now the only two players on the roster who reached the 40-point plateau in the NHL last season.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about the group here,” he said. “I can feel it. I can see it, definitely. I just want to come in, be a good teammate and try to do the best I can.”