NHL Rewind: Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard suffers fractured jaw, Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury makes history

Another week of NHL action is in the books, and it was a good one. There were quite a few notable stories, and we have you covered with the weekly NHL Rewind.

Connor Bedard, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, had his Calder Trophy campaign derailed when he suffered a fractured jaw against the New Jersey Devils. Bedard was rolling through the first 39 games of his NHL career, but he will be on the shelf for a while now.

Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers stayed red hot by extending their respective winning streaks to seven games. Additionally, Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury continued to climb the NHL record books with a dazzling performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Let’s take a look back at the best highlights and biggest storylines from the week that was in the NHL.

Goal of the week: Brad Marchand undresses Kris Letang

The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins played a chaotic game Thursday, and it produced a handful of highlights. The best among them was a game-tying goal from Brad Marchand that involved him completely bullying future Hall of Fame defenseman Kris Letang.

Early in the third period, with the Bruins trailing 5-4, Charlie Coyle slid a pass to Marchand in the neutral zone. Marchand brilliantly fended off Letang’s poke check and dug the puck out of the defender’s skates.

Then, with Letang on his heels, Marchand poked the puck around him and again neutralized Letang’s attempt to knock the puck away. Finally, with Letang on his back, Marchand flipped a perfect shot over the shoulder of Alex Nedeljkovic.

That was Marchand’s 15th tally of the season, and he is still playing at a very high level in his first year as the Bruins’ captain. Unfortunately for Boston, a guy named Sidney Crosby scored the game-winner for the Penguins with under nine minutes left in the game.

Robbery of the week: Marc-Andre Fleury flashes the leather on historic night

Saturday was a huge day for Marc-Andre Fleury as he tied Patrick Roy with his 551st career win, and he did so by making some huge saves. None of them were better than the one he made on Yegor Chinakhov in overtime.

After a missed opportunity by the Wild at one end of the ice, the Blue Jackets came back the other way with eyes on winning the game. On the odd-man rush, Jake Bean fed Chinakhov for a one-timer, and he was staring at all kinds of twine.

That’s when Fleury slid across and made a spectacular glove save with his own signature flair.

That saved the game for Minnesota, and Marco Rossi ended it shortly thereafter. That helped Fleury tie Roy, and it’s pretty clear the Wild goaltender still has some magic left in him. 

Fleury will have a chance to pass Roy on Wednesday if the Wild choose to start him against the Dallas Stars.

Connor Bedard placed on IR after taking big hit vs. Devils

Connor Bedard was having a spectacular rookie season, but an injury has derailed that for the time being. On Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks placed Bedard on IR after he suffered a fractured jaw against the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

In the first period, Bedard was attempting to enter the zone on the power play when the puck slipped off his stick. As Bedard went to reach for it, Devils defenseman Brendan Smith stepped up and laid quite the lick on the rookie.

Bedard went down hard and he came up holding his jaw. The No. 1 overall pick left the game and did not return.

Smith wasn’t penalized for the hit, but he did have to answer to Nick Foligno in the second period. Those two dropped the mitts for a ferocious bout that went on for some time. Apparently, Smith is made of titanium because Foligno fractured his finger and was also placed on IR.

This injury could also shake up the Calder Trophy race. Bedard was the clear frontrunner to this point, but that might change the longer he sits out. Perhaps Brock Faber or Luke Hughes can close the gap in the coming weeks.

The Blackhawks were already in the conversation for the worst team in the league, even with Bedard in the lineup. Now, it will be hard to watch, although Chicago did manage to pull out a win over the Flames afterward.

Oilers, Panthers stay red hot with hat tricks and seven straight wins

The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are the two hottest teams in the NHL these days, and they both got decisive wins Saturday to extend their winning streaks to seven. On top of that, both of the victories involved hat tricks.

The Panthers were in Denver this past weekend to take on the Colorado Avalanche in a battle of Stanley Cup hopefuls. The game went into the third period with the score locked at 4-4, and Florida took control from there. The Panthers scored four in the final frame, and Sam Reinhart finished off a hat trick for his 26th, 27th and 28th goals on the year.

Over this seven-game winning streak, Reinhart has been even hotter than usual. He has 10 goals and one assist over that span as he just keeps finding ways to put the puck in the net. Matthew Tkachuk has finally found his scoring touch too, riding a three-game goal streak after a slow start to the season.

As a result of this recent hot streak, the Panthers have surged to just two points behind the Boston Bruins for the Atlantic Division lead.

In Edmonton, the Oilers controlled most of their game against the Senators on Saturday night en route to a 3-1 win. Zach Hyman had all three of the goals for the Oilers for his second hat trick of the season.

Hyman now has 25 goals on the season, which leads the Oilers by a wide margin, and he has been enjoying life on a line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Since Kris Knoblauch became the head coach in Edmonton and that line became a regular trio, Hyman is tied for second in the NHL with 18 goals in 22 games played.

The Oilers are now 17-6-0 under Knoblauch, and they have climbed into the second wild card spot. They’re four points behind the Nashville Predators, with four games in hand, for the first wild card spot and just five points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division.

Appointment viewing this week

Golden Knights at Avalanche | Wednesday, Jan. 10: This is always going to be a banger matchup because these are two Western Conference heavyweights. Vegas hasn’t been playing its best hockey of late, but this will be a big opportunity to right the ship with a win over the Avs.

Kings at Panthers | Thursday, Jan. 11: Personally, I think these are two of the most dangerous Stanley Cup contenders in the league. The Kings and Panthers are both great at controlling play at five-on-five, and they have horses up and down the lineup. This should be a ton of fun.

Devils at Lightning | Thursday, Jan. 11: The Devils will limp into Tampa Bay with both teams in the midst of a heated battle for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The winner of this game will be in pretty good shape, but the loser will have taken a step back in a crowded wild card field.

Coyotes at Wild | Saturday, Jan. 12: Speaking of heated postseason races, the Wild and Coyotes should be in the mix throughout the second half of the season. Both teams have stumbled lately, but the stakes in this one will still be relatively high considering it’s early January. Expect this to be an intense battle in the Twin Cities.

Kraken at Penguins | Monday, Jan. 14: After slow starts, the Kraken and Penguins have started to heat up, and that’s especially the case with the former. Seattle has won six straight games, and it has put itself right back in the West’s playoff picture. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is just two points out of a playoff spot in the East.