BEDARD PULLS OFF THE MICHIGAN

On the NHL’s final night before its holiday break, Connor Bedard and Trevor Zegras combined for a stylish celebration of lacrosse.

Bedard and Zegras each scored a lacrosse-style – or “Michigan” – goal on Saturday in a pair of highlights that likely will be watched repeatedly before the league returns to action on Wednesday night.

It is commonly referred to as a Michigan goal in honor of Mike Legg, who pulled it off while he was playing for the Wolverines during the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

The 18-year-old Bedard executed the move for the first time since he was selected by Chicago with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft.

With the Blackhawks down 1-0 in the first period at St. Louis, Bedard got a pass from Philipp Kurashev behind the Blues net. The center then cradled the puck with his stick before slamming it into the corner, over the left shoulder of goaltender Jordan Binnington.

“There was just no one there, and just thought it was a good play, and yeah, kind of went for it,” Bedard said during a TV interview between periods.

It was Bedard’s 13th goal in his 33rd game. He leads all NHL rookies in goals and assists with 17.

“He’s got quick hands and I didn’t even realize what happened until it went in,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “That’s the vision that he has. He can see that when the puck is probably wobbling a little bit. He gets his blade under it and he can scoop it as he’s moving. He’s able to do those things. Unfortunately we couldn’t propel it into a win tonight.”

Even with Bedard’s dazzling move, the last-place Blackhawks blew a 5-2 lead in the third period of a 7-5 loss to the Blues.

“Talented play and I think it shocked all of us,” St. Louis forward Robert Thomas said of Bedard’s goal. “That’s a hard play to stop and it takes a lot of skill to do that at that speed.”

Zegras returned to Anaheim’s lineup after missing 20 games with a lower-body injury. He stepped into the top-line center role previously occupied by rookie center Leo Carlsson, who sprained a ligament in his right knee Thursday against Calgary.

With 5:59 left in the Ducks’ 3-2 loss to Seattle, the 22-year-old Zegras skated behind the net and picked up the puck with his stick blade before flinging it over Joey Daccord’s shoulder from the extended goal line.

It was nothing new for Zegras, who has scored three of the NHL’s eight lacrosse-style goals, according to the Ducks.

“When I went behind the net, it’s something I obviously feel comfortable with doing,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s not like a crazy play for me to do. When that goalie goes post to post, usually you’ve got a little room upstairs. Lucky enough, it went in.”

Zegras also scored lacrosse-style goals at Montreal on Jan. 27, 2022, and at Arizona on April 1, 2022. Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov is the only other player with multiple such goals, according to the Ducks, accomplishing the feat on Oct. 29, 2019, versus Calgary and Dec. 19, 2019, at Colorado.

Zegras “was terrific,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “It’s amazing, he missed two months and he was arguably the most physical guy on the ice.”

(Associated Press)