Blackhawks lose to Hurricanes despite Connor Bedard's efforts, in predictable fashion

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The contrast between the Blackhawks' two biggest storylines right now couldn't be starker.

On one hand, the Hawks are a loss machine showing no signs of slowing down until the regular season ends — a scheduling quirk that will finally prevent them from losing any more.

After falling 6-3 against the Hurricanes on Monday, they've dropped 21 straight road games, a streak that began in early November and will now extend into March. They're 15-38-3 overall this season, two points behind the Sharks for last place in the NHL and on pace to finish with just 48 points, which would be the franchise's worst full season since 1956-57 (when a full season included only 70 games).

On the other hand, rookie forward Connor Bedard is a revelation who is only getting better and better. He looked good in October and great in November, but he looks even better now — a rate of development capable of blowing minds when one imagines how he'll look in, say, 2026 or 2030.

Bedard added another three points Monday, and he could've had a fourth if he didn't have a goal overturned by an offside challenge in a second consecutive game. The Hawks have scored seven goals as a team in the three games since he returned; he has contributed to six of them. He now touts 39 points in 42 games.

And so the dueling storylines live on, as they will the rest of the season. Bedard is good; the Hawks are bad. Rinse and repeat.

"This is just a year of lessons," forward Nick Foligno. "It sucks saying that, but we're going to have to go through it as a group."

Hawks coach Luke Richardson tried to impart one of those lessons before the game Monday, warning his young players who hadn't faced the Hurricanes before how fast they move as a team and how dominant their structure can be in terms of controlling puck possession.

Richardson described it as a "different animal." But there's only so much one can learn from words rather than experiences, and the Hurricanes indeed swamped the Hawks for long stretches. The 42-17 disparity in shots on goal (which was 27-7 at one point) was as predictable as a 25-goal differential can be in the NHL.

"We just had trouble handling their speed," Richardson said. "We didn’t have the puck hardly at all [during] the first half of the game. It’s hard to create anything offensively, and obviously [there was] way too much energy wasted defensively. ... We’ve got to be up to speed at the NHL level, and they really showed us that tonight."

A spinning backhand goal by Foligno late in the second period gave the Hawks some life, though, and Bedard was involved in two tap-in power-goals in the third period — the first from Kurashev to him, the second from him to Tyler Johnson — that cut the deficit to 5-3. It marked only the second time this season the Hawks have scored multiple power-play goals, and it came after squandering a long five-on-three advantage early on.

The game never felt remotely up for grabs, but every step forward from Bedard is worth appreciating nonetheless.

"Early on, [Connor] got caught thinking; we all did," Foligno said. "But then you start to see his instincts and his competitiveness. He was pissed that the game wasn't going [well], he wasn't handling [the puck] as much, and he started to turn it on. He started to want to make a difference, and when he does that, he's as special as anybody in this league."

Meanwhile, forward Anthony Beauvillier returned to the lineup after missing the last 18 games with a broken wrist. He slotted alongside Jason Dickinson on the second line and logged 16:13 of ice time.