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NHL Frank Nazar had a hotter streak than Connor Bedard to start the season, and the Blackhawks could use a return to that form. Stephen R. Sylvanie / Imagn Images How much the loss of Connor Bedard could mean to the Chicago Blackhawks across any amount of games speaks to how far his game has come this season. There are the goals (he has 19 of those) and there are the assists (25 of them). But more significant than that are the 18 primary assists he’s recorded. That means 37 of the Blackhawks’ 91 goals this season have either been directly scored by Bedard or set up by him. Only Macklin Celebrini and Connor Mc David have more combined goals and primary assists this season. Advertisement So, yeah, the Blackhawks are going to miss Bedard. But injuries happen in the NHL and teams get by. For the Blackhawks, it probably isn’t just one player who emerges and takes over all of Bedard’s production. They may need more of a committee. “It’s just time for guys to step up and create more, ” forward Ryan Donato said Saturday. “Obviously (Bedard’s) been phenomenal for us this year. He’s going to be a huge piece missing. But I think it’s about the next guy stepping up. There are teams that go through injury problems that happen. It’s part of it. It’s the next-man-up kind of reputation that you see teams have. I think it’s something we have to adapt to. ” Here are five Blackhawks who could step up in Bedard’s absence: Everything Bedard was getting, Nazar will now get. Not that Nazar wasn’t playing a lot, but he’ll receive more now. Bedard was averaging 21: 03 of ice time. That’s about a minute more than Nazar played Saturday, and 2: 14 more than Nazar has averaged this season. But more than that, Nazar will be asked to take advantage of that ice time and how he’s used in every major situation to help the Blackhawks win games. Of course, that starts with offense. There was a point early in this season where Nazar was the Blackhawks’ most proficient offensive player. He got off to a hotter start than Bedard with five goals in his first 10 games, and there was a thought Nazar would be the one who blew up this season. From there, though, Nazar trailed off and Bedard accelerated. The Blackhawks need Nazar to get back to that early level. He played with swagger and his game backed it up. He created the chances and finished them. While it is important the chances are still coming for him, Nazar can’t be a player who goes 20 games without a goal. The Blackhawks can live with that inconsistency in some players, but not Nazar. The Blackhawks envision him being a top-six center and scoring 30 goals a season. That’s what his contract extension was about. Advertisement While Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill isn’t going to say that, what he has been saying about being pleased with Nazar’s process and play is important. “I can’t sit here and say that stuff doesn’t wear, ” Blashill said of Nazar’s slump after Saturday’s game. “Of course it does. They’re humans, you know. But to be honest, my conversations with Frank are all process-driven. If he plays like he did tonight, he’ll get the rewards he wants. We’ll just keep focusing on that process and make sure that process is good. ” To be fair, Nazar has created similar chances in the last few weeks as he did earlier in the season. He just hasn’t been able to find the finish. On Saturday, he had one really good chance to score and it was saved. He finished with five shot attempts, four shots on goal and, according to Natural Stat Trick, two scoring chances. The Blackhawks need him to be aggressive like that. But for however long Bedard is out, this is an opportunity for Nazar to prove himself. The Blackhawks are hopeful eventually Bedard and Nazar will produce at high rates at the same time. That’s a major piece to the Blackhawks’ rebuild succeeding. Nazar said Saturday his confidence is still strong and he believes he’s up for the current challenge. “Getting the chances, the chances are there, ” Nazar said. “It’s just continuing to be ready in those moments, really just execute it. I know I can do it. I’ve been in that situation before. ” Outside of Bedard, Bertuzzi has been the Blackhawks’ most consistent scorer with 16 goals in 29 games. The production has obviously been high, but the consistency might be even more impressive. It’s the aspect of his game he and Blashill talked a lot about coming into this season. Ideally, Bertuzzi will keep doing what he’s been doing. That’s not entirely up to him, though. His success comes around the net, and part of that is having teammates contribute to getting the puck to him there. According to Money Puck, Bertuzzi’s goals this season have been scored from an average distance of 10 feet from the net. To compare, Bedard’s goals have been scored at an average of 22 1/2 feet. Advertisement Bertuzzi and Bedard have had success together, but Bertuzzi has also produced alongside other players. He had a good run with Nazar earlier in the season. The line of Bertuzzi, Nazar and Teuvo Teräväinen was an early fixture. André Burakovsky was on the top line with Bertuzzi and Nazar on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see whether Blashill toys with the lines in the coming games. Ryan Greene goes thru the legs and then Bertuzzi finishes it from a WILD angle ? ? pic. twitter. com/Kk SZm Hbmg8 — NHLon TNT (@NHL_On_TNT) December 11, 2025 It’s a lot to put on Lardis as he enters the NHL, but his offensive upside is higher than almost everyone on the team. He has a combination of shot, speed and instinct that is rare, which is why he scored 71 goals in the OHL last season and was among the AHL’s top producers already this season. He has special gifts. Even Saturday in Lardis’ NHL debut, he could have scored multiple goals. He hit the crossbar on one and just missed on another. He attempted a team-high eight shots and finished with two shots on goal and two scoring chances. Playing with other skilled players should benefit him, too. Lardis and Oliver Moore had a lot of success in Rockford together and they were reunited on a line on Saturday. Ryan Greene joined them, and that line had some noticeable shifts. Greene’s game has taken a step over the course of the season, and he seems more comfortable now. His two-way game and vision should benefit Lardis and Moore, too. “I thought Lardis played good, ” Blashill said after Saturday’s game. “I thought actually that line in the first had a lot of juice. They seemed like they had a lot of jump and they created some opportunities and they got good, young legs. I thought Lardis played good. He played good on the power play. He looked like he had a couple looks that had a chance to go in. If they go in, maybe it’s a different game at that point. He’s a talented young player. ” Donato was on pace early in the season to hit 30 goals again, though he’s fallen off since. He has eight goals through 32 games. He’s also fallen out of favor in the Blackhawks’ lineup, falling to the fourth line and fighting for ice time. He is still on the second power-play unit, but he’s not getting nearly the opportunity he did last season when he scored 31 goals. He anticipated that could happen this season. Regardless of where Donato plays, you can expect the effort. Even in a lesser role, he can be effective: two games ago, he had a goal waved off due to a hand pass. Donato can be a streaky goal scorer. It’s been eight games since his last goal. But he could be someone Blashill gives some more opportunity, especially if he can get the offense rolling. He’s played up the lineup and been on the first power-play unit before. He’s also someone who can score at five-on-five. He’s tied with Burakovsky for six goals at five-on-five and had 23 goals last season. Advertisement Mikheyev might not be the name you expect on this list, but some of the Blackhawks’ best chances happen with Mikheyev on the ice. For example, the Blackhawks’ best opportunity to score Saturday was when Mikheyev had a short-handed breakaway. On the season, Mikheyev is only behind Bertuzzi, Nazar, Donato and Bedard for individual high-danger chances at all strengths. The problem is Mikheyev isn’t putting those chances away this season. He has four goals on the season and hasn’t scored in the last 18 games. Last season, he scored 20 goals. If the Blackhawks could get the occasional goal from him, that could make a difference. Scott Powers is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Blackhawks. Previously, he covered the Blackhawks and the White Sox for ESPN Chicago. He has also written for the Daily Herald and the Chicago Sun-Times and has been a sportswriter in the Chicagoland area for the past 15 years. Follow Scott on Twitter @byscottpowers