Connor Bedard Catches Fire During Blackhawks 3-Game Winning Streak

GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

I hope you’re all finding solace in something as the cold temperatures and persistent sicknesses arrive for the winter. Luckily, the Cardiac Bulls and Cardiac Bears pulled off miracle comeback wins this week! Chicago is feeling good right now:

CHICAGO BEARS

W - BEARS 24 GIANTS 20

ICE IN CALEB’S VEINS

Snowy Soldier Field has been the setting for many young quarterbacks having a big day. They typically wear different colors and often aren’t very successful against the rest of the league. Jaxson Dart had his moment in Soldier Field history…until he got injured. Then Caleb Williams put his team on his back.

Dart had his way with the shorthanded Bears defense. Receivers were wide open down the field, penalties kept drives alive, and Dart took off for huge gains on the ground. Luckily, everything changed after a CJ Gardner-Johnson forced fumble in the 3rd quarter when the Bears were down 17-7.

The turnover and Brian Daboll’s mind-boggling decision to decline a defensive penalty after making a field goal from the 1-yard line to take a 20-10 lead gave the Bears all the hope they needed. Caleb took over and led two touchdown drives (9 plays, 91 yards and 4 plays, 53 yards) to give the Bears another nerve-racking win!

Standouts:

• Caleb overcame 6 drops (it looked like more), a few big hits, defenders grabbing at his ankles for near-sacks, and nasty conditions to singlehandedly will the Bears to victory

• D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 91 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 6.1 yards/carry

• Rome Odunze was back on the board with 86 yards and 1 TD on 6 receptions

• CJGJ had 9 tackles, 2 sacks, and the forced fumble

Quick Hits:

• Only 3 penalties for 25 yards 😁😁😁

• Bears receivers could NOT catch the ball. So many missed opportunities on solid throws by Caleb.

• Jaxson Dart (242 passing yards, 66 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs) was owning the Bears defense before leaving the game due to injury

• Bears offense stalled out all day long thanks to a 3/11 conversation rate on 3rd downs and 1/4 on 4th downs

• Nahshon Wright dropped 2 interceptions, including 1 in the end zone

• The Bears tried to avoid the kicking game due to weather, but Cairo Santos did make his 1 field goal attempt and went 3/3 on extra points

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Caleb Williams

20/36, 220 passing yards, 63 rushing yards, 2 total TDs

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Caleb Williams game-winning rushing TD

Traded for DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and a 2026 7th round pick from the Cleveland Browns for a 2026 6th round pick

• Desperately needed depth at DE after Shemar Turner and Dayo were declared out for the year

• Should earn some snaps at the end of the rotation

• Former 1st round pick of the Buccaneers (2021) has 15 sacks in 74 career games

• Mostly played special teams for the Browns this season

Ryan Poles said he called around the league for weeks prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline. They clearly pursued pass rushers and settled on a depth player. None of the big fish were moved, but I’m honestly surprised he hung onto his 2nd round pick this time around. Who is this GM?!

Placed Dayo Odeyingbo on IR with a torn achilles. He’ll miss the remainder of the season.

Activated LB Amen Ogbongbemiga from IR, placed practice squad OL Ricky Stromberg on IR, signed OL Kyle Hergel to the practice squad

Colston Loveland was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 2 TD game vs. the Bengals

SCHEDULE 📅 SUNDAY @ Vikings

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - KRAKEN 3 BLACKHAWKS 1

CAN’T KRAK IT OPEN

• Hawks couldn’t capitalize despite having more scoring chances, shots on goal, and more puck possession

• Joey Daccord saved 29 of 30 shots and tried to score twice across the ice at the end of the game with nobody in net for the Hawks

• Andre Burakovsky scored a goal in his 3rd consecutive game

W - BLACKHAWKS 5 CANUCKS 2

HIGH FIVE HATTY

• Tyler Bertuzzi had a single-period hat trick as all 7 goals were scored in the 3rd period

• Connor Bedard scored an empty netter along with 1 assist and 5 shots in his hometown

• Spencer Knight saved 43 of 45 shots and recorded his first assist as a Hawk!

W - BLACKHAWKS 4 FLAMES 0

A CANADIAN KNIGHT

• Knight (33 saves) earned his first shutout as a Hawk and the team’s first shutout since 2023!

• Bedard had a 4-point night by assisting on all 3 goals scored by his teammates

• Things got chippy after Frank Nazar got injured from a cross-check

W - BLACKHAWKS 5 RED WINGS 1

HAWKEY TOWN POWER PLAY

• Hawks went 3-for-3 on power plays and killed all 5 penalties

• Arvid Soderblom played hero and saved 45 of 46 shots in his first career game against his brother Elmer

• Oliver Moore scored his first career NHL goal!

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Connor Bedard

3 goals and 7 assists (10 points) on 15 shots

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Connor Bedard steal and score

Recalled Oliver Moore from the AHL, assigned Landon Slaggert to the AHL, placed Jason Dickinson on IR

Connor Bedard is 2nd in the ENTIRE NHL in scoring with 26 points. He reached 25 points in 16 games, which tied Patrick Kane for fastest in franchise history 👀. He’s also on an 8-game point streak with 17 total points! I think it’s safe to say…the superstar #1 overall pick, generational talent, franchise player has arrived.

Concluded a 3-2-1 road trip and will start a 4-game homestand!

SCHEDULE 📅 W/SAT

CHICAGO BULLS

W - BULLS 113 76ERS 111

CORNER THREE COMEBACK

• Nikola Vucevic drained the game-winning corner 3 as the Bulls overcame a 24-point deficit for the 3rd largest comeback in franchise history

• Bulls’ defense clamped down and only gave up 16 points in the 4th quarter. Even Kevin Huerter had a block and stared someone down!

• Josh Giddey (29p/15r/12a) became the first Bull since Michael Jordan to have a triple-double in consecutive games

L - BUCKS 126 BULLS 110 (NBA CUP)

THE MILWAUKEE GIANNISES

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (41p/15r) was unstoppable against the Bulls’ frontcourt

• Matas Buzelis (20p/8r, 8/13 FG) had an efficient game to lead the Bulls in scoring

L - CAVALIERS 128 BULLS 122

CHOKING BY THE DOZEN

• Cavs went on a 12-0 run to begin the 3rd quarter AND to end the game after losing 122-116

• Bulls’ bench scored 35 points in the 1st half and dominated in a 43-24 2nd quarter

• Jalen Smith (18p/11r, 4/4 3PT) starred in his 19 minutes off the bench

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Josh Giddey

20p/10.3r/10.7a per game, 1 triple-double, 1 double-double

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Nikola Vucevic game-winning 3

Coby White may return next week!

SCHEDULE 📅 M/W/SUN

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

Shota Imanaga is now a free agent

• Cubs declined their option to add 3 years and $57M to Shota’s contract

• Shota then declined a $15M player option for 2026

• After a rocky 2025 highlighted by the team’s lack of confidence in him in the playoffs, this isn’t too surprising. I thought it may have been worth it to pick up the options just because of the price of pitching these days. If he struggled in the future, they could probably find a team willing to take him as a project.

• Shota received the qualifying offer and may return as a Cub. It depends if he seeks out and finds a multi-year deal he is happy with from another team.

• If this is the end of his Cubs career, Shota was an unbelievable Cub. He transitioned flawlessly from Japan. He was an excellent teammate, hilarious personality, and was stone cold on the mound. He exceeded all expectations and was an unsuspecting ace when the Cubs needed one.

Gave the $22M Qualifying Offer to Shota and Kyle Tucker. If they decline and sign elsewhere, the Cubs would receive draft pick compensation.

Signed Colin Rea to a 1-year, $6.5M contract extension that includes a 2027 team option. Smart move after Rea provided a 3.95 ERA in 159.1 valuable innings last season!

Justin Turner is now a free agent after the Cubs did not pick up his $10M mutual option for 2026

Traded Andrew Kittredge to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations

• The Cubs must really not believe in him for the 2026 bullpen. If they kept him, they would have had to pick up his $9M option. If they hadn’t traded him, they would have had to buy out his contract for $1M.

• Kittredge ended up being their best trade deadline acquisition and was a key shutdown reliever heading into the playoffs!

Kyle Tucker won a Silver Slugger award, Cade Horton is a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year, and the Cubs won the team Gold Glove Award 👏

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Rome Odunze

Odunze cut right through the drama this week. His dad was vocal on Twitter about Rome not getting targets, being on a bad team, etc. Rome took the high road and said his dad is free to speak his mind even if they disagree. Rome reiterated his love for his teammates and the Bears organization.

In addition to being a standup guy to the media, Rome has also been very active in the community. Read about his efforts here:

MILD TAKE

Caleb Williams and Connor Bedard have “it”.

I’ve known this for a while.

I like to group these players together: Caleb Williams, Connor Bedard, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matas Buzelis

The 4 Chicago athletes who can put the city on their backs. The 4 who can be elite. The 4 who can be the franchise. The 4 who are wired differently - just obsessed and driven enough to outwork everyone else in the sport. The 4 who can bring trophies back to Chicago.

Yesterday, we had a magical Caleb and Connor day. What a gift to see them both carry their teams on the same day! Connor had 3 points and Caleb willed the Bears to a win. Both players were the best on the field and ice for the afternoon.

After 1 to 2 seasons of disheartening losing and organizational dysfunction, they are seeing some fruit from their labor and stacking wins. The Bears already have more wins than last season, and the Blackhawks have the 4th best goal differential in the NHL. They ignored the noise, put their heads down, and led their teammates through hard times.

This is only the beginning.

HITTING THE LINKS

Mark Lazerus - ‘The Goonies,’ ‘Go Fish,’ ‘6-7’ and Cup dreams: Inside the Connor Bedard-Frank Nazar friendship (The Athletic)

Joe Cowley - Bulls' roster headed for key changes, so talk was given ... just in case (Chicago Sun-Times)

Sahadev Sharma - To compete in 2026, Cubs will need to rebuild bullpen once again (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Blackhawks prospect updates: Adam Gajan feeling calm, comfortable in Duluth net (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Stay warm and prepare for more nailbiter finishes!