It’s been a tough season for Blackhawks fans, but Sunday was one of those days where we were treated to something outside of the norm.

Connor Bedard, the reason to watch the NHL’s worst team, delivered a dazzling performance on Sunday. Bedard scored two goals and tallied an assist in the Blackhawks’ 7-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.

Bedard became the first 18-year-old player in Blackhawks history to register three three-point games in the same season. Patrick Kane is the only other player with two three-point games. But Bedard wasn’t the story of the day. That was Colin Blackwell, who recorded his first hat trick.

Blackwell’s three-goal performance came in his 226th NHL game, just two days after he anxiously watched the clock tick closer to the NHL trade deadline on Friday while wondering if he would even be wearing a Blackhawks sweater on Sunday against the Yotes.

Blackwell talked with Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson on Thursday, during which he expressed his desire to stay in Chicago. With he and his wife expecting a child soon, a trade would have complicated things for them. While Blackwell was going to the airport on Friday afternoon to catch the team’s flight to Washington D.C., his wife texted him that Davidson had met with the media and Blackwell was not traded.

“I was hoping I was going to stay here,” Blackwell said on Sunday. “I have a lot going on. This is where I wanted to be. That’s ultimately what happened. My wife and I were pretty happy about it.”

Forty-eight hours later, Blackwell had the best game of his NHL career. Blackwell is hoping to have a few more of those games with the Blackhawks in the future.

“I’ve been here for a year and a half, two years, but new team,” Blackwell said. “Some of the younger guys, I mesh with them, gel with them pretty well. I like that role. I’ve been through a lot in my career, but some ups and downs. Not everybody knows my story, and I think in some locker rooms I have some advice and maybe some different perspective for some of these young guys. That’s kind of how I’ve been trying to approach it, trying to take some of them under my wing. I enjoy that opportunity.”

Seth Jones recorded four assists for the Blackhawks on Thursday. He’s been damn good since he delivered some criticism of the Blackhawks offense after their loss to the Colorado Avalanche last Monday.

“We just need to find a way to play together as a team instead of everyone trying to do it themselves,” Jones said after that loss. “It ends up in the back of our net when that happens. So we've got to block shots for each other, we've got to backcheck for each other, forecheck for each other, be on time when you're supposed to be on time. … Just the little details of the game aren't there at the moment.”

Jones has two goals and four assists in the Blackhawks previous three games. After the Colorado loss last week, Jones had just one goal and 17 assists on the season.

One more Connor Bedard nugget via Cam Robinson on X: Connor Bedard has scored 46 points in 51 games, a 0.90 point-per-game output that is the 12th-best rate by a U19 skater in NHL history. He trails just Crosby (1.26) and McDavid (1.07) over the last ~40 years.

More Chicago Blackhawks from Bleacher Nation

• Tab has more on the Blackhawks victory over the Coyotes:

More Chicago Sports from Bleacher Nation

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• Russell Wilson is heading to Pittsburgh. The veteran quarterback will compete with Kenny Pickett for the starting job next season, and now we can scratch the Steelers from the list of potential landing spots for Justin Fields.

Chicago Bulls

• Bulls head coach Billy Donovan delivered some optimistic news on Lonzo Ball over the weekend. Ball has begun sprinting, cutting, and jumping.

Chicago Cubs

• Brett has the latest on Cubs camp:

What’s on deck?

• The Bulls host the Mavericks tonight at the United Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM CT and NBC Sports Chicago will have the broadcast.