Chicago Blackhawks vs. Boston Bruins Preview: Dach Playing With Bedard, Vlasic Returns

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Boston Bruins Preview: Dach Playing With Bedard, Vlasic Returns

On today’s episode, the Blackhawks are back in action tonight against the Bruins, and Alex Vlic is expected to make his season debut. I’ll get into everything to note before the puck drops at TD Garden. You’re Locked on Blackhawks, your daily podcast on the Chicago Blackhawks, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. What’s going on, Blackhawks fans? Welcome on in to another episode of Lockdown Blackhawks, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. As always, I’m your host, Jack Bushman. Quick reminder to please go and follow Lockdown Blackhawks on Instagram and go and show some some support to the Lockdown Blackhawks X account as I just noticed I’m eight followers shy of reaching the 2,000 follower plateau. So, make sure to go and help me out if you can, Blackhawks fans. And I also got to let you all know that today’s episode is sponsored by FanDuel. Go and download the FanDuel app now or check out fanduel.com right now to get $300 worth of bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. All right, happy game day, Blackhawks fans, and happy game day, Cubs fans, as well. I felt it was appropriate here today to wear my Chicago Cubs hockey jersey as the Cubbies managed to stay alive with a tight 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the NLDS last night. Would be great to see both of these teams get a win here this evening. But of course for the Blackhawks side of things segment one here today. It’s game two of the 2526 regular season as the Hawks wrap up their season opening twoame road trip against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Puck drop is set for 600 p.m. Central time for this original six matchup and the Hawks are looking for their first win of the Jeff Blashill era. While the Marco Sturtorm era for the Bruins began with a victory last night in the nation’s capital despite the Bruins getting outshot 36-21, but it’s a back end of a backto-back here for the Bruins for their home opener. So, while this young Blackhawks group is going to be in yet another hostile environment dealing with all the Bruins crazies, uh it’s a real good opportunity, I think, for them to go and get their first win against maybe some tired legs. Even though it is, you know, just the opening of this new season, they’re probably as fresh as they can get. Still feel like the Bruins probably weren’t too happy when they saw this scheduling for their home opener going and playing in Washington last night against the Capitals on the road, then have having to travel back overnight and getting prepared for the their home opener the following day. So, like I said, I think it’s a real good opportunity for the Hawks to get that first victory. And this is also a building that the Blackhawks won in in their fourth to last game of the 24-25 campaign, defeating the Bruins 5-2. Captain Nick Felino tally two goals, while Ryan Donado and Tyler Bertusi found the back of the net as well. All former Bruins, so maybe the former Bees vibes will be able to carry the Blackhawks to a win here this evening. And then Arvin Solder Bloom, he’s expected to get the start in between the pipes for the Hawks. Spencer Knight, of course, started the season opener against the Panthers and was tremendous in his homecoming. Big reason, the primary reason why the Blackhawks were alive up until the final horn sounded. And Solder Bloom was the one who got the start in that 5-2 win over the Bruins back on April 10th, stopping 31 of the 33 shots that he faced to post a 939 save percentage. So hopefully Solder Bloom can, you know, uh, build off of that, even though it came last season. should be uh a place that he’s familiar and comfortable with and hopefully can help the Blackhawks get that first dub of the season. As far as the Blackhawks projected lineup, I’m obviously recording this prior to the morning skate. However, they did have a practice yesterday in Boston after traveling from Sunrise. So, we got a pretty good idea of what the forward lines and defensive pairings are going to look like this evening. And as I mentioned off the jump, Alex Vlic is expected to make his season debut against the Bruins. Was unfortunately not able to go in that season opener on Tuesday while still recovering from that cut that he suffered during the preseason by escape blade. But he should be good to go and rejoin the Blackhawks top pairing here this evening. But what I wanted to start with first, Blackhawks fans, is the projected forward lines here for the second game of the season because looks like Jeff Blash has already decided to make a little bit of a switch up. And honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this coming so soon into the new year just because I I mentioned a couple of days ago on the show, I liked how Blill gave these forward lines an opportunity to build chemistry with one another by uh remaining with each other throughout the majority of the preseason and into that first game against the Panthers as well. But that’s not going to be the case here tonight as Andre Burkovski and Connor Baddard will be joined by Colton Doc up on the top line while Ryan Donado has been bumped down a little bit in the lineup. And I think you know Colton Doc with how great he was all throughout the preseason just continuing to knock on the door for more and more of an opportunity. That’s kind of what Jeff Blashill alluded to yesterday. I I feel like Andre Burikovski though was the one who struggled the most in this opener against Florida. But I do feel like maybe the reasoning behind leaving Burakovsky along with Bard is Blash doesn’t really want to get into Burikovsky’s head that you know maybe he’s off to a poor start or something to his Blackhawks tenure and doesn’t want to get the vibes down you know so early out of the gate. I wonder if that was part of it because personally I thought Donado even though it wasn’t a great opener for him. I thought he was definitely the better of the two compared to Burkovski but obviously it’s a little bit of a different situation for Burkovski because it is still a new team still getting familiar with his new linemates a new system under Jeff Blasill right like these are things that are all going to take some time. So I just wonder if that was part of the decision-making from Blau to leave Burkovoski on the top line with Baddard instead of letting Donado remain there just because you don’t want to, you know, maybe allow something to tumble in the wrong direction for Burkovski so early in the season. But a heck of an opportunity here undoubtedly tonight for Colton. Doc did have a couple of shifts I believe in that game against the Panthers along with Baddard. Obviously, the the moment that a lot of Blackhawks fans talked about was the whiffed one-time that Doc had after Bard found him back door with a beautiful pass. Just unfortunately, the puck seemed to roll off the heel of his stick. But in a net front presence, power forward type of role. I can understand why Doc got this promotion and I’m very curious to see how the Doc Badard Burkovski trio is going to look here this evening after Baddard didn’t get a lot of help from his linemates in that opener. As far as Badar, definitely wanted to mention a couple of things here. First off, he’s recorded a point in each of his two career appearances at TD Garden, including, of course, his first NHL goal, which I believe came on October 12th, 2023, which funny enough was also the second game of the 23-24 season. Uh, but wow, I really can’t believe we’re already two years removed from Bard’s first NHL goal. Seems like it was just yesterday, but he too has some good vibes at TD Garden. Hopefully he’ll be able to keep that up this evening. And then I also had to be sure to mention the top speed that Baddard recorded against the Panthers as a huge talking point leading up to Baddard’s third NHL campaign has been the increase in speed. Worked hard on that during his offseason training and looks like he’s been faster so far here this year. And we finally got some statistics to back that up from this season opener. Bard clocked a top speed of 22.39 miles per hour, I believe, which is fast. almost a mile per hour faster than any top speed he recorded during the 2425 season. And he also recorded two bursts of over 22 miles per hour, which matches his career total through his first two NHL seasons. So, our eyes weren’t deceiving us Blackhawks fans. Bard is faster here entering his third season and that is definitely music to my ears and uh will will just give this Blackhawks offense so much higher of an upside if Bard can continue to play at that top pace uh and be almost as close to Frankie Nazar in terms of the top speed department. That is a huge development for both Baddard and this entire Blackhawks offense. and I’m very excited to see him and his new wheels on display here in the 2526 season. Second line for the Blackhawks here tonight. No surprise that Blast Hill isn’t switching this up after a real sharp performance from the Tavo Terrain, Frank Nazar, and Tyler Bertusi trio in the opener as they generated both of the goals for the Blackhawks in that game. Two points a piece for all three forwards. Frankie Nazar, baby, the breakout season looks like it’s off to a promising start. tallied the opening goal of the new season, then also tallied a primary assist on Tabo Terrain’s game tying goal. And I loved a post that was shared by JFresh Hockey on X. Definitely go and follow him if you don’t already. Blackhawks fans, he shared all of the top moments from Nazar in that game against the Panthers. And in addition to his contributions offensively, I just continue to be so impressed by how Frank Nazar uses those wheels of his to make an impact on both sides of the ice. I mean, on the for check, he was super aggressive, trying to force turnovers and just wreaking havoc on the defensive side of things. And then offensively using his wheels as well to give himself some opportunities. And there were a couple of times where he was just like one stride away from getting a quality chance off on net or tracking down a loose puck that could have potentially been an opportunity. So Nazar just continues to be all over the ice and make plays and make an impact in so many different ways. I thought he, you know, did have a couple of sloppy passes in that game, but altogether a really, really strong start to his first full NHL season for my guy Frank the Tank Nazar. Also wanted to be sure to mention that Tabo Terrainan has some pretty good juju against the Bruins as he’s tallied 18 points against them o uh in his last 17 games. So hopefully that will uh help the second line pick up where they left off against the Florida Panthers. Then down on the third line obviously with Colton Doc getting the promotion along with Baddard and Burkovski. This is where Ryan Donado is now expected to slot into the lineup tonight along with Jason Dickinson and Ilia McKayv. I think that’s still, you know, a pretty sound third line for the Blackhawks considering that Donado plays a respectable two-way game. There’s not obviously as much of a physical presence now on the wing now that Doc isn’t there. Donado, that’s not a strength of his game, but still a reliable two-way player that I think Blill feels comfortable with. Putting in a checking role, we’ll see how that new look third line fares here this evening against the Bees. And then rounding things out on the fourth line, same as the opener against Florida, Nick Felino, Ryan Green, and Sam Laferdy. Although I am curious to see if Ryan Green is going to take more faceoffs here tonight. That was something he fared really well at during the preseason and only wound up taking four faceoffs uh in the first game of the season. So, we’ll see if he gets a little bit more of an opportunity here tonight. The Blackhawks kind of had their backs up against the wall at the faceoff dot considering Bard was only three for 17 which yeah it’s only one game but still undoubtedly a bit concerning and then obviously Frank Nazar 21 years old in his first full NHL season. He’s going to go through some ups and downs at the draw as well but it feels like Ryan Green out of those three is the one who’s best prepared to handle uh the faceoff dot against grown men right here right now. So, we’ll see if Blashill gives him a little bit more of an opportunity in between the dot here this evening. And then I also wanted to mention Nick Felino. I talked earlier that he had uh two goals the last time he faced his former team at TD Garden on April 10th. He also has four points overall in his last four games versus the Bruins at TD Garden. So maybe if you’re a wagering man and Nick Felino point, it probably would generate a pretty savvy return if I had to guess. But altogether, he Tyler Bertusi, Ryan Donado, like I said, the former Bruins were on the forefront at the forefront of the Blackhawks 5-2 win the last time that these two teams met. We’ll see if uh the good vibes can continue inside this Hawks forward group to help them pick up this first victory. And then Lucas Reichel expected to be a healthy scratch once again. Obviously, there were trade rumors involving Riel uh over the last week that really started to pick up, it seemed, and then it’s kind of died down ever since then. Kyle Davidson spoke with the media ahead of the season opener on Tuesday and kind of just gave some general manager speak around Riel. I, you know, still think the best thing for him would be to move him to another team and give him another opportunity, but at the same point in time with Landon Slagger out right now, Joey Anderson, who’s potentially uh could be an extra forward for the Hawks whenever he returns, there’s just not like a clear-cut extra forward that I think the Blackhawks want to bring up right now. So, I do wonder if that impacts Lucas Reichel remaining with the team right here, right now. But that’s obviously going to be a fascinating storyline in and alone of itself to cover as Riel once again is on the outside looking in. Doesn’t look like he’s going to be given much of an opportunity here for Chicago. Uh I’ve said many times, you know, it would really suck to kind of punt low on him and sell him for like a third or fourth round pick. It’s not a really smart piece of business, but as I’ve said time and time again, at the same point in time, obviously there’s uh no future here for no future in Chicago for Lucas Reichel. And kind of utilizing him as an extra forward just feels a little bit unfortunate given where he’s at in his stage of his career. But there is a quick look at the Blackhawks projected forward group for tonight’s matchup against the Boston Bruins. Coming up in just a moment, I’ll go through the projected defensive pairings with Alex Vlic expected to rejoin the lineup. Real quick though, I do first got to show some love to one of today’s sponsors, which is FanDuel. The NFL season is now in full swing, and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a camp miss offer. Because right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use all across the app. And what I personally love about FanDuel is that it’s super quick, it’s easy, and the best way to add a little more energy to your Sundays with player props, same game parlays, and more ways than ever to now get in on the action. Are you ready to play? All you got to do is download the FanDuel app now or go and visit fanuel.com today in order to get started. Again, that’s fuel.com to place your first $5 bet and get $300 worth of bonus bets when it wins. Real quick, just a reminder to please go and smash that like button and subscribe to Lockdown Blackhawks on YouTube if you enjoy what you’re watching here today or on a daily basis. Segment two getting into the Hawks projected defensive pairings for the second game of the season here against the Boston Bruins. Alex Vlic. We’re still talking right now ahead of the Blackhawks morning skate, but Vlic was able to rejoin the defensive pairings during practice yesterday. And Blashel said he expects him to make his season debut tonight at TD Garden. That puts him back on the top defensive pairing along with Sam Renzel. And I think this is going to be a huge boost for not only Renzel, but obviously the Blackhawks blue line as a whole. Renzel kind of struggled, especially in the defensive zone in that opener against the Panthers, which I don’t think is really all that surprising, right? Considering this was still just his 10th NHL game. He has little to no experience going up against playoff caliber squads like the Panthers who just play such a hounding and aggressive style of play. They’re on you at all times. So, I don’t think it was surprising that Renzel along with Matt Grizzlick on the top pairing who’s, you know, a 5 foot10 undersized offensive-minded defenseman as well. Renzel obviously more so known for his offensive abilities right here, right now. Was never really a good spot, I thought, for uh Renzel defensively for his season opener. Wound up committing a team high five giveaways in that game, but did also play over 25 minutes, which even BL said was probably a little too egregious. That’s probably something they got to dial back on during Sammy Renzel’s first uh technically his rookie season here with the Blackhawks. So, don’t think he’s going to be playing 25 minutes per game every night. And that workload is definitely going to be eased off of his shoulders with Alex Vlic now returning. That now gives uh Renzel his defensive anchor alongside him. And I’m really excited to see how this top pairing is going to look here tonight in their first regular season action together. And hopefully that will help kind of stabilize Renzel’s defensive game and allow him to go and flourish on the offensive side of things. Second pairing for the Blackhawks looks like it’s going to be Wyatt Kaiser and Ardum Levinov once again who were actually the best analytical defensive duo for the Blackhawks in that game against the Panthers. Uh, I want to say even Levinov who had some struggles wound up being on the ice for uh, six shots on goal, four to five shots on goal against and I think the scoring chances were five to five aside and he was on the ice for one goal, four to no against. But that’s what the analytics say. The eye test will tell you that it I don’t think it was a very good debut for Arty Lechov. And I really do think that pairing had a lot of success analytically because of how good Wyatt Kaiser was in this game. I thought Kaiser was the best defenseman for the Blackhawks. Had a couple of shaky moments in the first, but I thought it was while he was kind of trying to recover and stick up for his defensive partner who was making a lot of mistakes. I mean, that first period was dreadful from Levchov. Every time the puck touched his stick, seemed like something bad happened. Committed a bunch of turnovers, wasn’t in the right spot defensively a couple of times, failed to keep the puck in at the blue line that led to an oddman break going the other direction. And then he also took uh both of the Blackhawks penalties in the first period. So, it was about a as poor of a start to the new season that it could have possibly been for Arty Lebanon. I do love to see the resiliency from him and uh how he managed to fight back along with Kaiser and those two had some really solid shifts in the offensive zone as well. But I do think as I’ve been outspoken about like throughout training camp and the preseason, there’s just it’s not a sturdy presence that Ardum Lebanon provides on the back end right now. And I really think out of all the young players who are up in the NHL right now, I I just think he’s the one who’s least prepared to thrive instead of survive out there on the ice. And that’s a term that Kyle Davidson, Jeff Blasio continue to use when deciding on where these prospects should be. I don’t think Ardum Levchenov is really ready to thrive in the NHL right now. However, what I will say is he is a really fascinating case in alone of himself because I think the style of play that he provides that Rover style where you know fundamentally and positionally he can be out of place from time to time, but it can also be to his benefit because he’s so rangy and can make plays in so many different zones and has some good wheels. I I do think that’s going to be like the best part of his game when he kind of gets more experience and just kind of puts it all together a little bit more. He’s just so raw here at 19 that I feel like in order for him to have success, he’s got to be a little bit tighter. He’s got to, you know, kind of make some smarter decisions both with and without the puck and kind of simplify his game. However, what I will say back to that at the same point in time is that the the style of play that Arty plays is so unique and I don’t know if you want to like discourage him from playing that style because I do think when he does get that more experience and he does get a little bit older and still, you know, he’s obviously a big body, but starts to become a little bit more of a man, I really do think that’s how he’s going to make an impact is because he can float all over the ice and make so many different plays. But just right here, right now, it feels like it’s not a good style of play for a 19-year-old who uh just finds himself in harm’s way from time to time. Like I feel like he needs to be steadier. He needs to be a little bit more composed and like I said, simplify his game. But doing that also like potentially jeopardizes kind of ruining what he’s trying to transition and develop into becoming. And then also like he’s only 19 years old and still so raw. So, like I don’t want to critique Ardum Lebchinov too hard because he’s still so early into his young career, right? Um, and then it’s like, would he fare better in the NHL with that style or would he fare better in Rockford? There’s just a lot of tough conversations to have around RD Lechenov. And when I, you know, say these things about how he needs to tighten up, I legitimately don’t mean to critique him all that much because I understand he’s so young, but it’s still clear the inconsistencies that he has in his game. There’s going to be some nights where Lev Shinov looks awesome and then there’s going to be nights like he had against the Florida Panthers where there there are stretches of play where he he just looks like he’s not ready to handle the NHL action. And I personally don’t have the answer as far as where Levinov would better be suited up in the NHL right now or maybe developing a little bit in a major role with the Rockford Iceogs. He’s still obviously going to get a pretty good opportunity manning the second defensive unit here in Chicago, but it’s just a really fascinating situation for Levinov. I don’t want to critique him too harshly, but at the same point in time, I still feel like he’s not truly ready to thrive in the NHL right here, right now. We’ll see if he can bounce back and have a little bit more steady of a performance tonight against the Bruins along with Wyatt Kaiser, who, as I mentioned, was absolutely excellent, I thought, defensively in that game against the Panthers. Only Blackhawks defenseman who didn’t commit a giveaway. Also chipped in for four hits, which isn’t really a strength of his game, and added two block shots in that game as well. Real good stuff out of number 44. And then rounding things out on the Blackhawks defense, third defensive pairing, Matt Grizzlick, who as I talked about was on the top pairing along with Renzel for the opener. He’s been bumped down to the third pairing along with Conor Murphy. Well, Ethan Delastro is drawn out of the lineup, which I don’t really think is the most surprising thing considering how much I’ve talked about his preseason struggles. Didn’t really fare all that well in the opener against the Panthers. I did misspeak yesterday though. I said Delasro was on the ice for two of the three Panthers goals that they scored. He was actually only on the ice for one. I apologize for confusing Delmastro’s 38 along with Grizzlick’s 48. Um, but even if he was only on the ice for one goal, it was still the gamewinner for the Panthers. I thought while you can blame Tyler Bertusi for that play, definitely deserve some of the blame uh for kind of letting his man go in transition. That’s still the back post that Ethan Delmastro should be protecting. And there were multiple times in this game where he just let guys get behind him because of poor judgments or bad decision-making in the neutral zone. So, not surprising that Delmasro is the one to draw out of the lineup here tonight. Still pretty confused as to why Nolan Allen wasn’t the one who played in this game. Like if the Hawks were expecting or at least I know they were hopeful that Vic was going to be able to go, but there was even a slight chance that Vic wasn’t going to be able to play. I definitely felt like Nolan Allen was the one who was more prepared to step into the opening night lineup and handle a sturdy defensive role with the where that way that he fared in the preseason and with his size and with his physicality and defensive prowess. That just made no sense to me whatsoever. And also one thing I wanted to mention, well, yes, Matt Grizzlick has the experience of playing over 500 NHL games. I get you wanted to put a veteran along with Sam Renzel for that opener against such a formidable Florida squad. I still feel like Nolan Allen would have been the better fit there along with Sam Renzel. Even though, yes, Nolan Allen is still only 22 years old, very young himself as a defensive-minded defenseman. I think you would have wanted him in that role, a bigger guy who can have success in his own end compared to a 510 offensive-minded Matt Grizzlick. So, that again just didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me personally, Blackhawks fans. I just don’t know why Nolan Allen wasn’t part of this opening night roster. I’m guessing Ethan Delmastro is going to be going down to the Rockford Iceogs of the AHL whenever the Black or not whenever when the Blackhawks return home tomorrow ahead of their uh home opener on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens as just wouldn’t really make sense to continue having eight defenseman with the NHL team, especially with one of them being Delro and at his age where he’s at in his development. definitely would benefit from playing a top four role in all situations along with Nolan Allen, Kevin Cchinsky down in the Rockford Iceog. So fully expecting Ethan Delastro to be sent back down to the AHL here in these next couple of days. And that leaves uh him and Louis Krevier once again on the outside looking in here for the second game of the season. Real quick, did want to get into uh the Boston Bruins projected lineup here this evening. As I mentioned, it’s the back end of a back-to-back for the Bruins for their home opener. Did pick up a three to one win over the Washington Capitals last night, and it was mostly because of the effort they got from, excuse me, their top line, as well as Jeremy Swayman in that. He was fantastic, stopping 35 of the 36 shots that he faced. I talked in segment one how uh Washington outshot Boston 36-21 in this game. Swayman stood on his head to get the first victory of his season and also get the first victory of the Marco Sturm era for the Bruins. And then it was the top line for the Bees who provided all the offense. Morgan Geeky, Elias Lynholm, and David Posternok. The first two had two points, one goal, and one assist while David Posternok tallied a goal and added two primary apples as well. So that was all of the offensive contributions for the Bruins in their season opener. Blackhawks definitely got to be aware every single time that trio hits the ice here this evening. Uh second line for the Bruins. And by the way, because this is a back end of a backto-back for them, they’re not expected to have a morning skate ahead of this matchup with the Hawks. So, I’m just kind of going through the forward lines and defensive pairings that they utilized for their season opener and kind of looking at their extras. Maybe one or two of them get in, but not necessarily like a knock on wood. Hopefully one of those guys don’t join the lineup and score two goals against us uh tonight, but not necessarily like game changers or uh key young pieces that they’re trying to enter into the lineup. John Beecher is someone who could potentially draw in though. But on the second line for the Bruins last night was Pavle Zaka, Casey Middlestead, and then Victor Harvardson who they obviously signed in free agency this summer. The third line was Tanner Jano, Frasier Minton, and Michael Asamant. And then the fourth line was KZnado, Carelli, and Castellic to round out the forward group. Defensively for the Bees, Mason Lori was paired along with Charlie Makavoy, the anchor of their blue line. Hampus Lindholm, the second Lindholm on the Bruins roster. Uh skates on the second pairing along with Andrew Peak. And then how about this third pairing for the Bruins Blackhawks fans. These guys are going to sound pretty familiar to a lot of you. Uh it’s Nikita Zidorov and Henry Yoki Haru. Henry, of course, was the 29th overall pick for the Blackhawks way back in the 2017 NHL draft, which I I can’t believe was already eight years ago. um almost going to be nine years ago when we hit the NHL draft here this summer. But uh yeah, only wound up playing, I believe, in 38 games for the Blackhawks before ultimately getting dealt to the Buffalo Sabres. Hasn’t really developed into much aside from a third pairing right-handed defenseman with some good size. But of course, I’m going to say that and he he’s probably going to wind up on the stat sheet tonight considering how these things go for Blackhawks legends. And then Nikita Zadorov of course a Blackhawks legend as well. Played uh in 55 games for Chicago in 2021 20 2020 2021 before getting traded to the Calgary Flames. Not the very good tenure for Nikita Zador in Chicago. The Blackhawks faithful did not really grow accustomed to him. Uh but he rounds things out defensively on that third pairing. The former Hawk pairing there for the Bruins along with Henry Yoki Haru. And then because Jeremy Swayman got the start in the season opener, that sets up Yonis Corposal to be the one between the pipes for the Bruins in their home opener. And Corposalo is 34 and three in 11 career starts, 12 career appearances against the Hawks with a goals against average just below three. I believe it’s 2.97 and a save percentage right around 900. So a little bit shaky has Corposal been against the Blackhawks. would love if he was shaky once again here tonight to get the Hawks their first win of the season. Let’s get one for the Hawks. Let’s get one for the Cubbies and have a great Thursday night for Chicago Sports. There is everything to note before the puck drops tonight at 600 p. p.m. Central time in Boston. Coming up in just a moment, Blackhawks fans, even though the season has already started, I still have some more season previews that I want to get into here real quick, and you’re definitely not going to want to miss out. First, I just wanted to say thank you all for making Lockdown Blackhawks your very first listen here to start off your day and a reminder to go and check out the Lockdown NHL podcast for your second listen where the action never ends. They cover the daily leaguewide stories that matter the most with the local coverage you love from Locked On. And you can now find Lockdown NHL on YouTube or wherever you may be listening to your podcasts. Segment three, as I mentioned right before the break, even though the season has already started, we’re only one game in, doesn’t mean I can’t give any more season previews. It’s not like the cat’s out of the bag in terms of what these guys are going to do here this season. And of course, I’ve already covered Connor Baddard, uh Frankie Nazar, Sam Renzel. I think the three most crucial young pieces for the Blackhawks this year that everyone is kind of wondering what they’re going to do, what kind of numbers they’re going to put up. But I wanted to go through that same discussion with a couple of more key Blackhawks on the roster this season. Starting out with Ryan Donado. I don’t know if you guys heard that banging that’s going around outside my apartment window right now, but I do apologize if you did. But Ryan Donado, of course, coming off of a career season for the Blackhawks. 31 goals, 31 assists for 62 points, more than doubling his previous uh career highs in points. It was a phenomenal year for Donado and it was really needed along with Connor Baddard. He really needed someone to help him on that top line and they established some really sound chemistry with one another. And I think that is too, you know, part of the interesting decision by Blashill to take Donado off of the top line when they were really strong together last season while leaving Andre Burikovski. But as I alluded to in segment one, I do wonder if that’s just because Burkovsky’s in a new situation and Blashell didn’t want to like give him scatterbrain or have him worrying right out of the jump. But as far as uh Donado, what I think he’s going to put up this year, I do think admittedly Blackhawks fans, even if he is going to be consistently along with Conor Bard, it’s just going to be a very tough season for him to replicate. And the reason I say that is not only because he was stapled along with Baddard for the entirety of last season. We’re not 100% sure if that’s going to be the case, but he was also playing a top power play role before Frank Nazar stepped onto the scene full-time. Does not look like Donado is going to be on the top power play here this season. And another key statistic is that he shot 17.0% last year. And in his first season with the Blackhawks in 23-24, and while he’s always been a capable double-digit goal scorer throughout his career, 17% is a hard number to replicate. And in his first year with the Blackhawks, he shot 8.1%. So more than doubled that during the 24-25 campaign. And that shooting percentage is usually a statistic that you can look at for outlier type of campaigns. And while I do think Donado can still be a pretty consistent offensive piece for this team, it’s just hard for me hard for me to picture him potting 30 goals here once again this season. But not to say that it can’t happen. Not out of the cards absolutely. But as far as what I’m going to project for Ryan Donado in his third season along with the Blackhawks and an 82game pace, played in 80 games for the Blackhawks last year. And funny enough, the only two games that he didn’t play in, he was a healthy scratch in early on in the season. But I’m projecting 18 goals, 23 assists for Ryan Donado here this season. 41 points. I do think he’s going to get over that 40point hump because again, he’s still going to have a somewhat sizable role with this Blackhawks team. If it’s the first line or third line, we’re not exactly sure long term, but he’s going to be put in some decent offensive situations. I don’t think it’s going to be another 30 goal season for Ryan Donado, and I honestly don’t know if he’s going to hit 20. I think, you know, 20 definitely can happen, but it’s just hard for me to project when again, he jumped up from 12 goals to 31 in his second year with the Blackhawks. So, I’m going uh 18 goals, 23 assists. My math’s right, correct? 18 goals, 23 assists. Yeah, that would be 41 points. Just wanted to make sure. And I also have Donado uh checked out for two power play goals this season compared to the five that he scored last year because as I said, he’s not going to be on that top power play any longer. Andre Burkovski is the next one I wanted to go through. A guy who was a 61 point scorer with the Colorado Avalanche as a third liner to help them win the Stanley Cup. His second Stanley Cup championship of his career. But ever since then, joining on with the Seattle Kraken did not play very well for them in the 23-24 season in 49 games, tallied seven goals, nine assists for 16 points. In five of those seven goals that he scored in 49 games came on the power play. So only two even strength tallies for Burkovski in 49 games that year while shooting 7.6% in a 14 uh 14 minute 34 second time on ice average. 24-25. He did get back to being a little bit healthier and performed a bit better, but still in 79 games only potted 10 goals along with 27 assists for 37 points. This is a guy who, you know, was pushing 20 goals kind of every season early on in his career. So definitely not what the Seattle Kraken were hoping for out of him. Zero power play tallies in 79 games for Burkovski. And he also shot just 8.7%. And I want to mention that because he shot above 10% in every single season he’s played in except for these last two. So maybe that’s a reason to feel that Andre Burkovski goalcoring wise can bounce back here with the Blackhawks. Hopefully that’ll be the case because that would be a big factor and a big help along with Bard possibly on the top line if Burkovski is able to hold down that role. and in 2526 on an 82game pace just because I do think Burkovski is like Donado he’s going to be getting a somewhat good opportunity even if he’s not like fully stapled along with Conor Bard with his speed with his size I do think altogether the Blackhawks offense is going to be better this season Bard and Nazar are going to be driving play a little bit more so I do think because of that it’s going to be a little bit of a bounce back for Barakovski in terms of what he did the last two years I’m projecting him to score just like Ryan Donado I have him at 18 goals as Well, but only 24 assists for Burkovski. Never been a huge playmaker in his career, more so a goal scorer. But I have him at 42 points, just one shy of what Ryan Donado is going to put up. But I do think uh Burkovski is going to bounce back in the goal scoring compared on what his shooting percentage has been the last two years. Whereas Donado, I think he’s going to come back to earth a little bit following shooting him shooting 17% last year. Next, Tavo Terrainan, who was on a real good run in the final three to four months of the 24-25 campaign. Wound up being the second leading scorer for the Blackhawks in 82 games, tallied 15 goals, 43 assists for 58 points. Seven of those goals that he scored though was on the man advantage. Only eight even strength tallies for Terrain in 82 games. The Blackhawks, Frank Nazar, they need him to be better in that category this season. 13.5 shooting percentage for Terravan, which was pretty solid when he did rifle the puck while averaging 17 minutes and four seconds of time on ice, largely in a top six role for the majority of the season. And that’s where I’m expecting Terrain to be once again. And because I think the Blackhawks power play is going to be good this good again this year because I think the second line is going to be a consistent threat. I think it’s going to be a stronger year for Tabo Terravin and I’m projecting him to be the second leading scoreer on the Blackhawks once again. In 82 games, I’m having Terravine pot 22 goals. think he’s going to get up over 20 this year. Off to a good start in that category along with 45 assists. I think because he’s going to be playing along with Nazar as well as at the right dot on the top power play. He’s going to be racking up some quality assists this season. And I have him altogether tallying 67 points. Second leading scorer on the Blackhawks. The only one who I think is going to have more is Connor Baddard. And then last but certainly not least, Alex Velic. uh obviously more of a defensiveminded defenseman, but I do think he’s really developed some nice offense, some better a better offensive game than I think anyone initially expected for a 6’7 guy who is mostly known for his defensive abilities. In the 23-24 campaign, 76 games, two goals, 14 assists, 16 points for Vassic with 21 minutes and 29 seconds in average time on ice. Then last year, 82 games played, four goals, 26 assists for 30 points. However, I do want to mention once Seth Jones got traded and before Sam Renzel and Lechin off stepped, excuse me, stepped onto the scene, uh, Vlic was getting a lot of time on the Blackhawks top power play, which isn’t going to be the case here this season. 11 of his 26 assists on the year came on the man advantage while averaging 23 minutes and 16 seconds of time on ice. I think that’s probably going to be right around uh the time that Blic averages again here this season. 23 23 and a half minutes as the team’s true number one defenseman. So, he’s going to be having a great opportunity and I think the Blackhawks offense is going to be better. But, it’s just hard for me to see him racking up as many assists as he did last year considering he was playing on the top power play and he’s not going to be playing on the man advantage here. Uh, so for 82 game pace, I have Lassic projected to score three goals right in the middle of the four that he scored last year and the two that he had in the 23-24 campaign along with 23 assists for 26 points. I do think it’s going to be hard for him to hit 30 once again. Even though the Blackhawks offense is going to be better, but I think we’re going to continue to see Alex Lassic get more comfortable with his puck moving and uh how to operate in the offensive zone like we’ve seen kind of the increase in his speed these last couple of years. That has been excellent for a player of his size. So, that’s going to take care of today’s episode of Lockdown Blackhawks. Everyone, I know we ran a little bit long here. Thank you all for sticking with me up until the end. Make sure to subscribe to Lockdown Blackhawks on YouTube and go and follow Lockdown Blackhawks for free as well wherever you may be listening to your podcast. I’m your host Jack Bushman. Check me out on XJack Bushman 2, but make sure to follow my strictly Blackhawks accounting hockey so you don’t miss any of the latest Blackhawks news and updates. Till tomorrow’s episode everyone, go Blackhawks, go Cubs. Let’s get a couple of wins for Chicago sports here tonight and I’ll see you next time on the Lockdown Blackhawks podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Thursday’s episode begins with a full preview of the Chicago Blackhawks’ second game of the 2025-26 season against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Host Jack Bushman goes over everything to know before the puck drops at 6 p.m. CT, including Colton Dach getting bumped up to the top line with Connor Bedard, while Alex Vlasic makes his season debut on defense. The episode concludes with a few more season previews for Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Donato, Andre Burakovsky, and Alex Vlasic. All that and more on Locked On Blackhawks. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.

Preview/Forward Lines (1:15)

D Pairings/Injury Updates (15:00)

More Season Previews (29:20)

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