The Chicago Blackhawks must stick with their recent first-line combination of Bedard-Bertuzzi-Nazar

Not long ago, Luke Richardson was relieved of his coaching duties by the Chicago Blackhawks.

There were many reasons, but one that many fans could easily identify as a weakness in Richardson's style was his constant, sometimes needless shuffling of the lines. Many critics of Richardson argued that this tendency to shuffle the lines and play with pairings did not allow the players to build chemistry and momentum with one another.

That is why it has been frustrating to me that Anders Sorenson has often shuffled the lines as well, albeit with less frequency than Richardson.

The key difference seems to be that Sorenson is more willing to let a line's entire game speak for its effectiveness rather than one or two bad shifts.

When a line gets going, Sorenson has shown that he will keep them together even if they allow the occasional odd-man rush or bad goal.

After watching the recent spate of Hawks games it has become apparent that the top line of Connor Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Frank Nazar are dynamite together.

They play with speed, aggression, and tenacity away from the puck. Nazar and Bedard are so quick and they both hunt pucks terrifically well, and Bertuzzi is essentially a human bull.

As this season has progressed I have become a bigger and bigger fan of Tyler Bertuzzi, and it isn't just because he leads the team in goals.

This combination actually looks like an NHL-worthy top line.

This is the first time in quite a while that I watched a Blackhawks game and when that line is on the ice the game feels different. That line feels like an NHL first line. This feeling speaks to the fact that these players pass the eye test.

They look the part of an NHL-caliber first line, generating multiple odd-man rushes per game, and A+ scoring chances. Bedard and Nazar have been outright robbed on at least three two-on-ones that I can remember, and with more time those will start to go in.

And that is my point, lines need time to gel together to develop the necessary chemistry to score goals and drive play.

Think back to the Kane-Anisimov-Panarin line. That line quite literally could not be stopped, and it won Patrick Kane the MVP. What made that line so special? Their consistency. They were a threat every time they were on the ice because they developed amazing chemistry and they knew where eachother were going before they went there.

With this Hawks line we are starting to see an example of that chemistry paying dividends. Tyler Bertuzzi has developed a sort of "signature move." He goes hard to the net, gets down on one knee, puts his foot behind his stick, and waits for Bedard to hit him right on the tape for an easy tap in. He's scored multiple goals this season exactly like that, and Bedard and Nazar are starting to look for that shot.

Consistent linemates will help Connor Bedard continue to improve.

As the season goes along, I expect to see that line continue to flourish, but even if they hit a bit of a rut, they need to be kept together.

Much has been made about whether Connor Bedard is living up to expectations with the Blackhawks. My opinion on that is that it depends greatly upon what your expectations of him were in his first two seasons.

However, whatever you think of Bedard, it is clear that having consistent linemates will help him put up more points. Bedard could likely finish this season as a point-per-game player, and honestly, that would indicate to me that he is right on schedule to becoming the franchise player the Hawks drafted him to be.

The Hawks need to do whatever it takes to give Bedard help, and hope that there is light at the end of this long rebuild. We have seen teams like the Red Wings, the Canadiens, and *shiver* the Buffalo Sabres, go through what seem to be never ending rebuilds.

The Hawks absolutely cannot go down that road with Connor Bedard on their team. One small way of making Bedard feel more confident in the rebuild? Help him dominate on the ice and put up a ton of points with linemates who maximize his talents.

For Connor's sake, as well as the many fans who still continue to care, this line needs to stay together for the remainder of the season. These guys will only continue to build chemistry with each other and by the end of the season, you may have at least one line that you can pencil in going into next season.