6 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, including Connor Bedard’s 1st goal

Mark the time for the annals: Game 2, first period, 5 minutes, 37 seconds off the clock.

Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard scored his first NHL goal.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft tucked a wraparound goal past Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark to strike first for the Hawks on Wednesday at TD Garden. Bedard’s goal was the only one for the Hawks, who lost 3-1.

“It was exciting. It’s a big relief too,” Bedard said after the game. “You want to get one really bad quick and kind of get it out of the way. ... I had my family here and everything, so it felt good for sure.”

It was a personal milestone, but it also marked a new day for the Hawks.

The next great hope in the lineage of Patrick Kane, Denis Savard and Bobby Hull ticked off the first of what likely will be many goals.

At 18 years, 86 days, Bedard became the third-youngest player in franchise history to record his first goal behind Grant Mulvey (18 years, 32 days on Oct. 19, 1974) and Eddie Olczyk (18 years, 56 days on Oct. 11, 1984).

“You always remember your first goal,” teammate Nick Foligno said.

Bedard recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in the opener Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

While only time will tell how meaningful Bedard’s first score will be in the grand scheme of the team’s rebuild, one can appreciate the beauty of the goal.

It started with Kevin Korchinski’s pass through the neutral zone that ended up on Bedard’s stick.

Bedard got Jakub Lauko to turn his body on a backhand pass to Ryan Donato — reminiscent of the no-look backhander Bedard pulled against the Penguins’ Erik Karlsson in the opener — and Donato handed the puck back to him.

Ullmark stopped Bedard’s first shot from the glove side, but the puck bounced back to Bedard.

While four Bruins defenders and Ullmark converged on that spot, looking for the puck, Bedard swung around the back of the net and slammed in the puck just before Ullmark could shift back.

“It’s kind of a weird play and I saw that he was out of his net a bit,” Bedard said.

“It happened really quick,” coach Luke Richardson said. “It’s impressive because I think he knew that he was going to get that before he even tucked it. It’s exciting to watch. I’m happy for him.”

Foligno said with a laugh: “We were saying if it was a wraparound on the bingo card, I don’t think we had that one. But heck of a goal by him. He’s starting to show what he can really do.”

Bedard pumped his fist and let out a shout in celebration.

“I remember being behind the net and kind of seeing it, and I was just like, ‘Don’t screw this up,’” Bedard said. “And then once it went in, a lot of joy for sure.”

Jarred Tinordi was the first to hug him, then Taylor Hall, Donato and other teammates rushed in. Hall and Donato were credited with the assists.

Hall gave Bedard a few jabs in the shoulder and Tinordi gave him one in the back, and Bedard adjusted his helmet as he skated off with a big smile.

On the downside, Hall is week to week after he left in the second period with an upper-body injury following a hit by Brandon Carlo.

Andreas Athanasiou and later Lukas Reichel filled in on Bedard’s and Donato’s line, and Richardson said Reichel could be an option to replace Hall for the short term.

“Lukas was flying pretty good tonight,” Richardson said. “When those creative guys get out there, I don’t really think it matters where they start when they drop the puck. Going forward, it was a good look tonight, in case we need it.”

Here are six takeaways from the game.

1. Were the Blackhawks sleepy or sloppy?

Back-to-back games can be tiring, but that can’t be the only excuse for the Hawks’ careless handling of the puck, often rushing passes without looking or making lazy passes.

“We were a little bit disconnected everywhere in all three zones,” Richardson said. “I think a little bit of fatigue, we lose our work ethic of skating and we’re watching it a little bit.

“And then we fumbled the pucks. So just a little bit of disconnect that we need to stay more connected. I thought (Tuesday) night we did a better job of that, (and) obviously a better result.”

2. Bedard finds himself in esteemed company.

Bedard is the fourth No. 1 pick to register at least one point in each of his first two NHL games as an 18-year-old, according to NHL Stats. The others are Alexandre Daigle (1993-94), Sidney Crosby (2005-06) and Nathan MacKinnon (2013-14).

Bedard’s first goal came faster than Crosby’s and Connor McDavid’s but not Auston Matthews’. Here’s how they stack up.

• Auston Matthews on Oct. 12, 2016: Game 1, Period 1, elapsed time 8:21

• Connor Bedard on Oct. 11, 2023: Game 2, Period 1, elapsed time 5:37

• Connor McDavid on Oct. 13, 2015: Game 3, Period 2, elapsed time 12:18

• Sidney Crosby on Oct. 8, 2005: Game 3, Period 2, elapsed time 18:32

Playing at TD Garden, under championship banners, Bedard had a sense of history.

“It’s a moment you dream of your whole life,” he said about scoring his first goal. “To have it happen in this building, it’s a pretty cool place, another Original Six team. To get it like that, it was a cool moment for sure.”

3. Welcome to the league, Part 2?

Brad Marchand hooked his stick under Bedard’s arm and steadily pushed him to the boards.

If that was his way of welcoming the rookie to the league, Bedard didn’t give it much thought.

“No, I don’t think so. It was a pretty brief moment,” Bedard said.

He also shrugged off Kris Letang’s shoving and bumping during Tuesday’s opener: “Was he knocking me around? I don’t know. To be honest I don’t remember.”

Wednesday it was Bedard who was called for tripping Marchand midway through the second period.

“I didn’t try to take a shot, I tried to finish a check,” Bedard said. “That’s what makes him so good, how slippery he is. Obviously kind of tripped him, I guess.”

4. Questionable hit sours a return to Boston.

Twenty-four seconds into the second period, Carlo drilled Hall while he wasn’t looking and Hall dropped to the ice.

To Richardson, there’s no question about it: “That’s a blindside hit.”

“That’s what the game is trying to get rid of. I know exactly what it is because I used to do it all the time,” said Richardson, a former defenseman. “But now it’s not in the game. We just hope that there’s not a lot of those that we see because they’re not great for anybody.”

In the first period, the Bruins gave Hall and Foligno video-board and stick-tap tributes after they played for Boston last season.

Foligno wrestled with Carlo’s hit on Hall after the game.

“It’s disappointing. Former teammate,” he said. “It’s a hard one to judge, but just seemed like he didn’t have the puck and tough position to put him in. Didn’t really like the hit, but hopefully he’s going to be all right.”

5. Arvid Söderblom’s best (of 25) saves came late.

The Bruins’ Milan Lucic dished a great feed to Pavel Zacha back door — and it looked like a sure-fire goal — but Söderblom smoothly slid over to stop it.

He was equally impressive on three straight saves against Pastrnak, Zacha and Carlo with two minutes left.

“He was great for us,” Richardson said. “Early in the game, they came out with a barrage. Then late in the third period, he kept it 2-1 for us.”

6. Bedard’s debut drew plenty of eyes.

With all the hoopla leading up to Bedard’s debut, it shouldn’t be a surprise it became must-watch TV.

The Blackhawks’ season opener against the Penguins averaged 1.43 million viewers on ESPN, according to network figures.

It’s ESPN’s most-viewed regular-season NHL game.

During an ESPN conference call last week, commentator Emily Kaplan said: “The excitement is palpable around the league. Everywhere I go, everyone I talk to wants to talk about this guy. He’s just got that ‘it’ factor. You know it when you see it. The only other two players that I can really unequivocally say have it in the league are Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby.”