Regina Pats star Connor Bedard extended his point streak to 35 games when he scored his team’s first goal in the opening period of a much-anticipated game against the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday at Scotiabank Saddledome.
But he wasn’t about to stop there.
Bedard assisted on Braxton Whitehead’s tying goal with 34 seconds left and then added the only goal in a shootout as the Pats prevailed 6-5 in a thriller.
A season-high crowd of 17,223 turned out to watch the expected No. 1 pick in this year’s NHL Draft — and they got a treat when the 17-year-old scored his WHL-leading 44th goal of the campaign with a shot to the top corner to tie it at 1-1.
Bedard’s goal on Wednesday also pushed his goal streak to 11 games — four off the Pats’ record set by Dale Derkatch in 1982-83. Bedard has 22 goals during the 11-game run.
The Pats’ record for a point streak is 47 games, set by both Jock Callander and Wally Schreiber in the 1981-82 season. Bedard has 90 points in his 35-game run after going pointless in the season opener.
BEDARD’S SEASON TOTALS: 36 GP, 44 G, 46 A, 90 Pts.
PATS’ RECORD: 23-21-3 (Seventh in Eastern Conference)
UP NEXT: The Pats are in Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes, who are fifth in the East, on Friday at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
With Bedard the top-ranked prospect for the 2023 NHL Draft, here’s a look at the current lottery odds. There will be two lottery draws where the top two picks are up for grabs. The percentages below indicate the chances of a team winning the first lottery when the top pick is in play. However, teams can only move up a maximum of 10 spots in order, so if a team outside of the bottom 11 wins the first draw, they won’t get the first overall pick. Therefore, while the 32nd-ranked team has an 18.5 per cent to win the first lottery, they still have a 25.5 per cent chance to pick first overall.
TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PTS% | FIRST LOTTERY ODDS |
Chicago | 16-32-5 | 37 | .349 | 18.5% |
Columbus | 17-34-4 | 38 | .345 | 13.5% |
Anaheim | 17-32-6 | 40 | .364 | 11.5% |
San Jose | 17-28-11 | 45 | .402 | 9.5% |
Vancouver | 21-30-4 | 46 | .418 | 8.5% |
Arizona | 19-28-8 | 46 | .418 | 7.5% |
Montreal | 23-28-4 | 50 | .455 | 6.5% |
Philadelphia | 22-24-10 | 54 | .482 | 6% |
St. Louis | 26-25-3 | 55 | .509 | 5% |
Ottawa | 26-24-3 | 55 | .519 | 3.5% |
Nashville | 25-21-6 | 56 | .538 | 3% |
*Buffalo | 27-22-4 | 58 | .547 | 2.5% |
*Detroit | 26-20-8 | 60 | .556 | 2% |
*NY Islanders | 27-23-7 | 61 | .535 | 1.5% |
*Calgary | 25-19-11 | 61 | .555 | 0.5% |
*Florida | 28-24-6 | 62 | .534 | 0.5% |
* denotes a team outside of the bottom 11 that can’t get the first overall pick in the lottery
• Florida’s unprotected first-round pick belongs to the Montreal Canadiens
• Standings as of games ending Feb. 1