Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard appears hurt following an intent to injure hit by Seattle Kraken Adam Larsson
Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard played with a target on his back in 3-1 loss to Seattle Kraken Thursday night
The Chicago Blackhawks kicked off a Pacific-division road trip on Thursday night, marking one out of two games against Pacific division teams, taking on the Seattle Kraken.
Before they face a red hot Vancouver Canucks team lead by captain Quinn Hughes on Saturday, they had to face the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
The Blackhawks were hot coming off a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Wild, meanwhile the Seattle Kraken have only won two of their last five. When you think about the Seattle Kraken, there is not one-specific 'superstar' player that comes to mind as they are a very deep team with a heavy veteran presence- they all play their roles well, four lines deep to make for a playoff contending team.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks have Connor Bedard- most offensive possession drives are started or caused by him, a 19-year old sensation in his second year in the NHL after winning the Calder Trophy in 2023-24. With Bedard being labeled as a star, there is a clear target on his back, and we've been seeing that target more times than none lately.
32-year old NHL veteran Adam Larsson laid a nasty cross check on the 19-year old Bedard, which lead to a Blackhawks powerplay. Bedard appeared in pain after the hit.
Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, the powerplay was not successful, and the Blackhawks did not make proper use of it. It is quite clear the cross check on Connor Bedard was quite severe, if the Seattle Kraken didn't pay on the powerplay, one specific player may be paying following a fine from the NHL.
With a vicious crosscheck like this from Larsson, the NHL will protect their star players and with similar situations in the past, hand out the maxium amount of fine ($5,000).
Do you think Larsson deserves more discipline than that?
