For the first time in his young career, Connor Bedard outplayed Connor McDavid. Behind a three-point performance by the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday night.

Last year, the Oilers won their three games against the Hawks by a combined score of 9-2. This time around, the Blackhawks had a different game plan, looking to slow down the Oilers’ high-powered offense led by McDavid. They accomplished their goal by putting together a dominant performance.

Philipp Kurashev opened the scoring in the first period by redirecting a shot from Taylor Hall. But the Oilers, who were shut out 6-0 by the Winnipeg Jets in their season opener on Wednesday, were looking for their first goal after more than four periods of play. Corey Perry finally scored the first goal of the season for the Oilers, tying the game at 1-1 early in the second period.

Then the Bedard show began at Rogers Place. Bedard assisted on Seth Jones' goal before scoring his first NHL goal with a powerful wrist shot from the top of the circle. Bedard then added an assist on Teuvo Teravainen’s goal early in the third period to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead.

Leon Draisaitl cut the lead to two goals on the power play with assists from McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. But Teravainen sealed the victory for the Hawks with an empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Teravainen finished the game with four points, and Jones had a goal and two assists.

Calvin Pickard didn’t fare much better in net for the Oilers than Stuart Skinner did on Wednesday. He allowed five goals on 20 shots. Pickard had also allowed a goal after coming in relief of Skinner against the Jets.

Petr Mrazek was solid in goal for the Blackhawks, stopping 35 shots.

Huberdeau Back to his Old Ways?

Jonathan Huberdeau led the charge with two goals and two assists as the Calgary Flames defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3. After scoring in his first game of the season Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks, Huberdeau struck early in the game, opening the scoring at 5:37 of the first period.

Just over two minutes later, Huberdeau assisted on MacKenzie Weegar’s power-play goal, doubling the Flames’ lead.

The Flames’ power play wasn’t on the same page in the first half of the second period. Travis Konecny took advantage of the opportunity, reducing the deficit with a shorthanded goal.

But Huberdeau and his teammates were undeterred. Playing with a man advantage, the Flames regained a two-goal lead when Nazem Kadri beat Ivan Fedotov.

With the Flames leading 4-2 with 4:26 left in the third period, Huberdeau completed Martin Pospisil’s beautiful setup to collect his fourth point of the game. Kadri added an empty-net goal late in the game.

In his second game in the NHL, Matvei Michkov recorded his first career point. The Russian assisted on Konecny’s second goal of the game in the final minutes of the third period during a power play. Joel Farabee scored the Flyers’ other goal.

Dustin Wolf was brilliant in goal for the Flames, making 37 saves. Andrei Kuzmenko also had a strong game with three assists.

Another Tough Night for the Avalanche

Kirill Marchenko and Yegor Chinakhov scored in a three-goal second period for Columbus, and the Blue Jackets defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-4 on Saturday night.

Marchenko and Chinakhov each added two assists to their totals. Their teammate, Sean Monahan, recorded a goal and two assists.

Zach Werenski, Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli also scored for Columbus.

Nathan MacKinnon, Miles Wood, Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton scored for the Avalanche, but Alexandar Georgiev allowed three goals on nine shots. Georgiev is having a terrible start to the season. He was pulled in his first outing after allowing five goals on 16 shots against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Justus Annunen replaced Georgiev after Fantilli’s goal at 1:56 of the second period, giving the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead. Wood and Mittelstadt beat Daniil Tarasov just 1:31 apart to tie the game, but Marchenko put Columbus back in the lead 51 seconds later.

Tarasov stopped 26 shots to earn the victory.

Kaprizov’s Three Points Not Enough

Kirill Kaprizov was involved in the Wild’s first three goals, but it wasn’t enough as the Wild lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Seattle Kraken.

Jared McCann, who scored 29 goals last season, scored his first of the campaign late in the game to force overtime.

Captain Jordan Eberle also contributed, scoring two goals on two shots.

Matty Beniers was blanked for the second straight game, as was Shane Wright.

Matt Boldy had two points, giving him five in two games.

Marc-André Fleury, making his first start of the season, stopped 30 of 34 shots.

The Minnesota Wild will need to put this loss behind them quickly as they embark on a seven-game road trip starting Sunday.

Dostal Shuts Out Sharks

Isac Lundestrom scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-0 on Saturday night.

Lundestrom scored with a wrist shot from the slot after receiving a pass from Brock McGinn with nine minutes remaining in the game.

Trevor Zegras added an empty-net goal with 1:35 left to seal the victory.

Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal made 30 saves for the shutout, and Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek stopped 28 shots.

It was Dostal’s first start in an opening night game. The Ducks will be back in action quickly, facing the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.

The Story of the Night: Bedard’s Big Night

The first overall pick was electric in his NHL debut, as he led the Blackhawks to a victory over the Oilers. Bedard’s performance was a sign of things to come, as he looks to be a dominant force in the league for years to come.