Milestones! Connor Bedard was a man on a mission on Tuesday night, scoring in the first, second and third periods to pick up his first career hat trick at the NHL level.

Bedard added an assist on Ryan Donato’s insurance goal in the middle of the third period. That goal was Donato’s 100th point as a member of the Blackhawks.

Louis Crevier, who assisted on Colton Dach’s first goal of the season and scored his second to make it 2-0 in the first, picked up his first career multi-point performance.

Nick Foligno notched career points No. 600 and No. 601 with a pair of assists.

Hot Start: The Blackhawks’ 5-3-2 start is the franchise’s best start through ten games since 2018, when Joel Quenneville’s squad began the season 6-2-2. Coach Q was fired 11 days later after a five-game skid.

Connor Bedard said after last night’s win: “No matter what, you’re going to go into every game like you can win. We really have such a belief in here and in our group. I think coming into the year, if you asked people who weren’t a part of our team their expectations, it might’ve been low. But we haven’t thought like that.

“Obviously, it’s only 10 games in and we have a ton of work to do, but we just believe in one another and it’s such a tight-knit group that we’re going to play for each other.”

There are a few reasons.

First, their youthful energy is infectious. In the last few years, the young Blackhawks were finding their way and their voices in a room full of stopgap veterans like Pat Maroon, Alec Martinez, and Tyler Johnson.

Now, for the first time, the room belongs to the kids. They're more comfortable in their own skin and aren't afraid to express themselves on and off the ice.

Secondly, they're being coached at an NHL level. Nothing against Luke Richardson or Anders Sorensen, but both guys were learning how to coach in the NHL.

Jeff Blashill has plenty of NHL coaching experience, including seven seasons as the Detroit Red Wings head coach, and three as an assistant under the NHL's best coach, Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Blashill, since arriving, preached urgency and aggression and it's quickly translated to the on-ice product. The Hawks attack with the puck and are quick to close in on the puck carrier when they don't. They don't wait to get scored on. They're trying to win the puck back.

Spencer Knight's dominance can't go ignored, either. He has been absolutely incredible this season. Entering Tuesday night, Knight led the NHL with 9.8 goals saved above expected in just six games. That's 1.13 goals saved above expected per game.

His wins so far this season are last night’s 7-3 rout, 3-2 vs Tampa, 2-1 vs Anaheim, 3-1 vs Utah, but the third Hawks goal vs the Mammoth was an empty-netter. Without Knight's brilliance, those probably aren't wins.