Bedard's Furious Reaction to Danault's Blindside Hit Goes Viral as Fans Split

TL;DR: Connor Bedard scored the Blackhawks’ only goal in Friday’s 4-1 loss to Montreal, then took a blindside hit from Phillip Danault that left him furious. Video of Bedard confronting Danault after the high contact went viral overnight, and fan reaction split three ways: those calling it a dirty hit, those calling Bedard a “crybaby,” and those asking why no teammate answered for the captain.

The Canadiens beat the Blackhawks 4-1 at the United Center on Friday, and the game’s most replayed moment had nothing to do with the score. After scoring Chicago’s opening goal, Connor Bedard took a blindside hit from Phillip Danault, spun to the ice, and got up shouting. The clip, shared by B/R Open Ice from the CHSN broadcast, spread across hockey social media within the hour.

What happened at the United Center?

Bedard had put his stamp on the game early, scoring 4:23 into the first period off a neutral-zone feed from Patrick Kane and roofing a wrist shot over Jacob Fowler’s glove. It was his second goal of the season, and a continuation of the statement start to his first season wearing the C in Chicago. It was also the Blackhawks’ only goal of the night. Later, Danault came across from the blind side and delivered a hit with high contact that knocked Bedard off balance and sent him spinning to the ice. The Chicago captain got straight up, confronted Danault and Alexandre Carrier with crosschecks exchanged, and the video caught him shouting an expletive-laden “Are you f***ed?!” at the Montreal forward. One account, markerzone, reported Bedard came up bleeding from the mouth.

Was it a dirty hit or a clean one?

That is the argument the clip started, and the fans have not settled it. Camp one calls the hit dirty: high contact, blind side, a star player targeted after scoring. Camp two mocks the reaction, with the most shared line of the night dubbing him “crybaby Crosby,” and some arguing Bedard skated into Danault’s shoulder himself. Camp three may be the loudest, and it is not about the hit at all: “Where’s the team response? You cannot let your star and captain handle this alone.” No penalty was reported on the play, which is why the debate lives on video evidence rather than a rulebook. It is a familiar shape for this desk: the Tkachuk fines saga showed how fast a borderline hit becomes a referendum on intent.

Will the league review the hit?

That is the open question. Markerzone asked it directly: will the Department of Player Safety want a look? As of Friday night, no review had been announced and no discipline was reported, so the incident stands as a viral moment rather than a ruled offence. The league’s recent history on hits like this, including the match-penalty debate around Nazar’s hit on Horvat, suggests the bar for a hearing is higher than fan fury. But the clip is everywhere, and DoPS has been known to notice.

What did the loss cost Chicago?

Plenty, beyond the captain’s temper. The Blackhawks fell to 3-7-0 with their second straight defeat, and the offence remains the deeper problem: five power plays on Friday produced one goal. Montreal, missing captain Nick Suzuki for the first game of his career with an upper-body injury that will sideline him two to four weeks, still got two goals from Jake Evans, one from Kaiden Guhle, an empty-netter from Mike Matheson, and 20 saves from Fowler. A team that can win in Chicago without its captain is a team with depth; a team that cannot score with five power plays is a team with one line.

What happens next for both teams?

The calendar gives this story a second act. Chicago hosts Florida on Sunday, and Montreal heads to Winnipeg for the Heritage Classic the same day. The rematch waits until January 4 in Montreal, and the fan debate has already circled that date as the night for a physical answer. Whether the league reviews the hit before then, and whether anyone in a Blackhawks sweater answers for Bedard besides Bedard himself, are the two threads worth watching. A captain should not have to be his own enforcer, and Friday night is the video evidence for why.