Blackhawks beat the Blues for their 4th straight win, as Connor Bedard's return potentially nears

Oliver Moore and Connor Murphy scored during Chicago's four-goal second period, and the Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 7-3 on Wednesday night for their fourth consecutive win.

Moore, Murphy, Louis Crevier and Landon Slaggert each had a goal and an assist as Chicago improved to 2-1-0 against St. Louis this season. Spencer Knight made 27 saves and Nick Lardis, Jason Dickinson and Andre Burakovsky also scored.

Chicago went 3 for 4 on the power play, while St. Louis was 0 for 5 with the man advantage. The Blackhawks are 8 for 8 on the penalty kill during their win streak.

Tyler Tucker, Otto Stenberg and Nathan Walker scored for St. Louis in the opener of a three-game trip. Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots.

Chicago grabbed control in the second. Stenberg tied it at 2 with his first career goal at 8:22, but the Blackhawks regained the lead 35 seconds later on Murphy's first of the season.

Slaggert got a piece of Colton Dach's shot at 12:27, and Dickinson made it 5-2 when he redirected Crevier's shot for his fifth goal with 2:36 left in the period.

Burakovsky added a power-play goal 5:11 into the third. It was his first goal since Dec. 20 and No. 10 on the season.

Chicago improved to 5-6-1 in 12 games since Connor Bedard hurt his right shoulder during a 3-2 loss at St. Louis on Dec. 12. The 20-year-old center participated in the team's morning skate and could return as soon as Friday against Washington.

The Blackhawks observed a pregame moment of silence for Hockey Hall of Famers Glenn Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford. Hall, a goaltender who helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 1961, died Wednesday at age 94. Pulford died Monday.

Blackhawks C Connor Bedard steps up his rehab in his return from a shoulder injury

Connor Bedard joined the Chicago Blackhawks for part of Tuesday's practice, stepping up his rehab in his return from a right shoulder injury.

Bedard got hurt on a draw with 0.8 seconds left in a 3-2 loss at St. Louis on Dec. 12. He ranked among the NHL leaders with 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games at the time of the injury.

"I feel really good," Bedard said. "Obviously getting to get out with the guys a little bit today and kind of just keep ramping up. It feels really good though."

The 20-year-old center was ruled out for Wednesday night's game against the Blues, but coach Jeff Blashill left open the possibility of a return this weekend. The Blackhawks host Washington on Friday and visit Nashville on Saturday.

"It's great to have him back out there, kind of involved in some of the team drills," Blashill said. "Those were kind of the flow-type drills, but we'll keep progressing. It was great to see him, great to see the jump that he has."

Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar also was on the ice before practice. Nazar was placed on injured reserve last weekend after he was hit in the face by a puck during a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Dec. 20.

"Good for Frankie to be skating," Blashill said. "He's further away than Connor, but it's a good step in the right direction for sure. He started with eating solid food and moved towards this, so that's good."

Chicago has won three in a row to improve to 4-6-1 since Bedard's injury. Asked about the timeline for playing in a game again, Bedard was noncommittal.

"Hopefully pretty soon I can get back out there," he said.

With his fast start, Bedard made an argument for a spot on Team Canada for the Winter Olympics. But he was left off the roster when it was announced last week.

"There’s disappointment, for sure," Bedard said. "Everyone in Canada would want to be on that team, or any country that's going. But there's so many great players. They got tough decisions to make, so obviously you respect that.

"It's a great team. You can't really be mad at the roster they picked, so there's no hard feelings for me."

Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, still could be added to Canada's roster as an injury replacement.

What's next:

Both teams play again on Friday night. The Blues visit the Utah Mammoth, and the Blackhawks host the Capitals.