Penguins vs. Blackhawks Thursday NHL injury report, odds: Connor Bedard expected to return for Chicago

In relatively surprising news out of the NHL, Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard, the No. overall pick in last year's draft, is expected to return from his broken jaw Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. His activation would come earlier than expected. The Blackhawks are still +170 underdogs on the SportsLine consensus as while Bedard is a generational talent, Chicago is still the worst team in the league with just 30 points.

Earlier this week, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said he thought Bedard wouldn't be available until next week. The 18-year-old hasn't played since Jan. 5 and missed All-Star weekend, which was a blow to the NHL as Bedard is already one of the most popular player in the league. In 39 games, he has 15 goals and 18 assists but a dreadful minus-22 rating, as there's just not much talent around him yet. Chicago could earn the No. 1 overall pick for a second year in a row.

Bedard has been training with the team and practicing on his own since Jan. 15. He has been wearing a full face shield, which he says he'll be wearing "for awhile, that's for sure."

It may not be a coincidence that Bedard is returning against the Penguins to face one of his idols for the last time this season in fellow Canadian and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby. Crosby was the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, all of 13 days after Bedard was born. Chicago opened the season in Pittsburgh as a huge underdog and won 4-2, rallying from a 2-0 defecit. Bedard tallied an assist.

Even with all that time missed, Bedard remains the -200 favorite at DraftKings to win the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. The only other player below +1000 is Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber (+300), who is tied with Bedard for the rookie lead with 33 points, although Faber has only scored four goals. Faber, a 2020 second-round pick, is 21.

Chicago enters on a seven-game losing streak and managed a total eight goals in that span. Even with Bedard, this is a bad offensive team averaging 2.08 goals per game, ahead of only San Jose (2.04). The Blackhawks are usually competitive at home, though, with a 10-13-2 record at the United Center.

It's the second game of a back-to-back for the Penguins. They took a third straight loss on Wednesday, a 5-2 defeat at home to Florida. Even worse, co-leading scorer Jake Guentzel (tied with Crosby at 52 points) suffered an upper-body injury. It's unlikely he plays tonight.

Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson, a surefire future Hall of Famer himself, enters two points shy of 800 for his career. He would become just the second active defenseman to record 800 points, joining Brent Burns (868). Karlsson has 13 points in his past 15 games.

The Blackhawks haven't announced their goaltender yet, but it will be Alex Nedeljkovic for Pittsburgh. He has gotten the team a point in 11 of his 15 decisions (8-4-3), and his .917 save percentage ranks seventh in the league among goalies with a minimum of 15 starts.

Subscribers now have access to a premium newsletter full of expert picks and analysis from SportsLine. Sign up here!