Blackhawks Pat Maroon stands up for Connor Bedard after vicious knee-on-knee hit from Neal Pionk

The play occurred in the first period of the game at the 13:45 mark when Bedard broke through the Jets to skate to the net. Pionk threw a nasty hip check on Bedard which Maroon saw and quickly skated over to Pionk and confronted him.

Maroon has had his share of run ins with players throughout his entire career It was brought in by general manager Kyle Davidson as a player to help protect and stand up alongside Bedard protecting his flank.

The Blackhawks signed him to a one year $1.3 million deal on opening day of free agency. This is his eighth stop in his career it has been an effective player with his physicality and his toughness. He's also been on winning teams as he has once 3 Stanley cups including one with the St Louis Blues in 2019 and two with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

The Blackhawks are continuing to find their identity and their lines combinations as they have had a tough start to their season. Many hope that this will be a quick turn around as the team continues to travel through Western Canada and face off against the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers did not give their fans a good showing in their home opener against The Jets as they dropped a 6-0 clunker which saw Stuart Skinner being chased out of the net.

The Blackhawks will have to be ready for the Oilers as both organizations want to start off their season on a winning note. The game will take place on October 12 and puck drop will be at 10:00 PM eastern.