Bedard Sparks Blackhawks in Season Debut as Chicago Tops Penguins 5-3

Connor Bedard is back — and ahead of schedule. The Chicago captain recorded an assist in his first game of the season Tuesday night, helping the Blackhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center.

Bedard had missed Chicago's first six games recovering from offseason shoulder surgery after injuring himself in a July 2 training session. He was initially expected to be out until November, but after skating with the team in a noncontact jersey since Oct. 5, he took part in his first two full practices Sunday and Monday and felt ready to go.

"Felt good," Bedard said afterward. "Nice to be back, and the energy and stuff felt pretty good." His touch pass from the left circle set up rookie Roman Kantserov's power-play one-timer at 17:50 of the first period, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead.

Teuvo Teravainen scored twice and added an assist, including the game-winner at 15:42 of the third, and Kantserov struck again in the second period on a setup from Artyom Levshunov. Spencer Knight made 24 saves as Chicago (2-5-0) snapped a two-game skid.

Sidney Crosby scored his first two goals of the season for Pittsburgh — the 655th and 656th of his career, tying Brendan Shanahan for 14th on the all-time list — while Patrick Kane picked up his 894th career assist, tying Phil Housley for the most by an American-born player.