Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Hockey phenom Connor Bedard scored the first of what could be many goals in a long NHL career, beating goalie Linus Ullmark in the first period of a Chicago Blackhawks loss to the Boston Bruins.
Bedard's first career score came 5:37 into the 3-1 setback Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft logged an assist in his NHL debut on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
"It was exciting," Bedard told reporters. "It was a big relief too. You want to get one really bad and quick and get it out of the way.
"It was a really cool moment and a cool building to do it in. My family was here and everything. It felt good."
Both teams sliced the puck at the nets in the early minutes until Bedard broke the deadlock.
Defenseman Kevin Korchinski received the puck behind the Blackhawks blue line to start the sequence. He then heaved another feed forward for Bedard.
The Blackhawks forward skated over the Bruins blue line before he slipped a pass back for Ryan Donato. Donato immediately sent the puck back to Bedard, who fired a shot at Ullmark.
The puck deflected off the goalie and hit the ice. Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall fought for the loose puck, which eventually went behind the goal to Bedard.
Bedard corralled the puck and skated behind the net. He finished the play by using a wrap-around shot, beating Ullmark inside the left post.
"He just knows where to go," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said of Bedard. "He is one of those guys that has instincts. He picked up that rebound and knew he had time and room, but he did it pretty quick. It was really fun to watch."
Trent Frederic tied the score less than six minutes after the Bedard goal. Fellow Bruins forward David Pastrnak scored in the second and third periods to secure the victory.
Donato and Hall earned assists on the Bedard goal. Forwards Milan Lucic, Matthew Poitras, Brad Marchand and defensemen Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy logged assists for the Bruins.
"I feel like, from a personal standpoint, it's gone pretty well," Bedard said of his NHL start. "There are definitely some areas I have to improve."
The Blackhawks (1-1-0) will face the Montreal Canadiens (0-1-0) at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Montreal. The Bruins (1-0-0) will face the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. Saturday in Boston.
