There is a fair criticism that Bedard could be better at managing his shift times. He’s tied for eighth in the league with 58 seconds per shift. He had nine shifts of a minute or more against the Oilers.

Bedard made some ill-advised passes Wednesday against the Oilers, and TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette called them out. There were grounds for that, but it's important to remember that Bedard is still only 19 — and his play is scrutinized more closely than arguably anyone else in the NHL.

For all of Bedard's talent and production, he has found himself the target for some scathing criticism over the past week.

Bedard notched a power-play assist, three shots on goal and four PIM in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers. Bedard helped out on a Ryan Donato tally in the third period. The 19-year-old Bedard continues to offer consistent offense with points in eight of his last 10 outings,

The Chicago Blackhawks, like the rest of their city’s sports franchises, aren’t giving local fans much to cheer about this year. The Blackhawks haven’t had a winning season since 2019-20 and they’re 16-31-6 before their matchup on Friday night against the Nashville Predators.