The Chicago Blackhawks entered their game on Sunday needing a spark. Chicago had lost their previous three games and found themselves beginning to bottom out. As a result, head coach Luke Richardson made some changes. One of them saw prized prospect Connor Bedard finally paired with promising but struggling forward Lukas Reichel for the first time.

The changes didn't result in a win. Chicago fell on Sunday to the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 3-2. However, the change provided some hope for Blackhawks fans. Bedard and Reichel played well together, and forward Philipp Kurashev continued his red-hot start to the season.

After the game, Richardson spoke to the media. And he revealed the logic behind pairing Bedard and Reichel together for the first time this season. “We just thought we’d try the young guys together and see if there was a little bit of chemistry there,” the Blackhawks head coach said, via the Chicago Sun-Times.

Kurashev provided the primary assist on Taylor Raddysh's second-period goal to tie the game 1-1. Later in the period, the 24-year-old scored his fourth goal of the year to tie the game once again. Bedard and Reichel teamed up to provide the assists on that goal.

“Kurashev was a real driving force on that line tonight. [He has] been pretty responsible and bringing speed to our game consistently since he’s been back,” Richardson said of the Swiss forward on Sunday, via the Chicago Sun-Times.

Kurashev now has 10 points in 10 games. Meanwhile, Bedard has 15 points in 16 games. Furthermore, the 2023 first-overall pick has eight points in his last five games. Reichel, however, has struggled this season. His assist on Sunday was just his fourth point all year.

Bedard and Reichel showed a ton of promise in their first game as linemates. Perhaps this pairing can help Reichel get out of his rut and take a major step the rest of the way in 2023-24.