The Chicago Blackhawks started their six-game road trip with a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Thursday night. Jonathan Toews faced off with his old team for the first time as a member of his hometown club, and he picked up an assist to help move Winnipeg to 8-3-0 through their opening 11 games this season.
FYI, Toews and Patrick Kane are now 4-0-0 against the Blackhawks since their departures. The Hawks will go for their first win against Kane when they conclude the long road trip on Nov. 9 in Detroit.
While the story of the night was Toews’ first appearance against the team he captained to three Stanley Cups, it was the Jets’ dangerous top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi who stole the show. The three forwards combined for four goals and nine points, as they seemed to cash in on every threatening scoring opportunity they generated.
It wasn’t a pretty performance by the Blackhawks’ defensive core, as they had too many structural breakdowns and made a few costly decisions. Most of which came against the Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi trio. Alex Vlasic, in particular, really struggled defensively on Thursday, as he was on the ice for four of the Jets’ tallies and made several sloppy d-zone passes. He did, however, score his first goal of the season in the third period to help the Blackhawks make a respectable late charge.
Despite losing by more than two goals for the first time this year, the Blackhawks truly didn’t play as poorly as the final score suggests. The visitors led 49-42 in shot attempts, 12-11 in high-danger chances, and 2.49-2.32 in expected goals for at even strength, per Natural Stat Trick. Jeff Blashill’s squad put up a decent fight on the road, but the Jets simply were better at converting on their best looks.
Oh, and Connor Hellebuyck played like he usually does — in the regular season, at least. One of the three goals that Hellebuyck surrendered came off a fluky bounce off a dump-in attempt that Teuvo Teravainen put into a yawning cage. The other was from a highlight-reel move by Andre Burakovsky, which is featured a little later in the column. You’re going to want to check that out. In the end, Hellebuyck stopped all the high-leverage shots that he needed to hand the Blackhawks their first defeat to a Central Division opponent in the 2025-26 campaign.
With Thursday’s loss, the Blackhawks have also now dropped 21 of the past 26 meetings with the Jets since April 2018. Fortunately for Chicago, the next matchup between these teams isn’t until January 2026, which will be Toews’ first trip back to the United Center. That will be a fun one.
Here are five other key takeaways and some highlights from the 6-3 loss in Winnipeg.
Knight Comes Down To Earth
Spencer Knight surrendered more than three goals for the first time this season and had a rare off-night. That will happen from time to time for every netminder, especially one that’s only 24 years old. For as good as Knight has been so far, Thursday’s game was a reminder that he, too, will go through growing pains and have his share of ups and downs.
The Blackhawks have gotten away with most of their mistakes when Knight has been in between the pipes, but that wasn’t the case in Winnipeg. He wasn’t able to bail them out like he consistently did through his opening eight appearances, and he also let in a few “softies” for the first time.
Knight let a wrist shot from Scheifele squeak through to give the Jets a 3-1 lead and hand them the momentum early in the second period. He’ll want this one back, for sure.
Josh Morrisey beat Knight in the third period to extend the lead to 5-1 off a shot from the point that never seemed to be picked up on its way to the back of the net. Even though there was some traffic out in front, that’s a save Knight’s expected to make, especially with how well he’s been playing.
Toews’ assist came on Morrisey’s goal, by the way. The 2010 Conn Smyth Trophy winner finished the game with one point, six shots on goal, and 14 faceoff wins in 20 attempts in his 20:21 of ice time.
Knight certainly shouldn’t shoulder the blame for Thursday’s loss. But it was the first time that Superman wasn’t on the scene to save the day, and that’s notable considering he’s performed like a top NHL netminder this season.
Second Period Struggles Continue
For whatever reason, the second period has been an issue the Blackhawks haven’t been able to conquer in recent weeks.
Back on Oct. 17, the Hawks blew a 2-0 lead in the middle frame to the Vancouver Canucks, and the game ended in a 3-2 shootout loss. Then, this past Sunday, they were outscored 2-0 by the Los Angeles Kings in the second after a strong opening 20 minutes. That game also ended in a loss.
Even in Tuesday’s win over the Ottawa Senators, Chicago allowed three goals in just over four minutes in the second period, which allowed the Sens to claw their way right back into the contest.
What was the worst period in Winnipeg on Thursday? Yep, you guessed it. The Jets led 9-6 in shots on goal, 6-4 in scoring chances, 2-0 in goals for, and had a 59.64 expected goals for percentage at even strength in the second period.
The Blackhawks trailed by only one goal going into the first intermission, but they didn’t give themselves a chance to come back with another subpar middle frame. That needs to be figured out.
Burakovsky’s Must-See Goal
The highlight of the night undoubtedly came from Burakovsky, as he scored a goal-of-the-year candidate to give the Blackhawks some late life in the third period.
After taking in a pass from Connor Bedard, Burakovsky went between the legs and beat Hellebuyck with a shot in tight to cut the Blackhawks’ deficit to 5-3. It was Burakovsky’s third goal of the season and third point over his past two games.
Artyom Levshunov➡️Connor Bedard➡️Andre Burakovsky🚨
Burakovksy goes between the legs for an UNREAL goal to cut the #Blackhawks deficit to 5-3! Insane move by Burakovsky for his 3rd goal of the season.pic.twitter.com/xU4SFngNl8
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) October 31, 2025
Bedard Was Buzzing, Greene Steps Up
While Bedard wasn’t able to beat Hellebuyck on Thursday, it wasn’t without a valiant effort. Bedard finished with seven shot attempts, three shots on goal, and five individual scoring chances, and he was undoubtedly the Blackhawks’ best player. Like he said after netting a hat trick in his last time out, sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don’t. That’s just the way hockey goes.
Bedard still ended up registering two points with a pair of primary assists on Burakovsky & Vlasic’s goals, which now gives him a team-leading 14 points through 11 games on the season. The Blackhawks led 22-10 in shot attempts, 12-4 in scoring chances, 6-2 in high-danger chances, and 2-1 in goals for at even strength with Bedard on the ice.
Credit also needs to be given to Ryan Greene, who played up on the top line for the second consecutive game. After a shaky showing against Ottawa, Greene rebounded rather nicely in Winnipeg, as he was the lone Blackhawks skater to finish with a plus-two rating and added two shots on goal in 19:24 of ice time. That’s a season high for him by nearly three minutes. It’s also worth pointing out that Greene won six of nine faceoffs on the night.
Greene easily could have had a multi-point game, as he was stopped on a breakaway by Hellebuyck in the first period, and then had a shot ring off the post in the third.
Admittedly, I didn’t fancy Blashill’s decision to roll Greene back out with the top line, but he sure proved me wrong on Thursday. I expect him to get another crack there when the Hawks return to action in Edmonton on Saturday.
Dickinson Exits Early… Again
For the third time in the opening 11 games, Jason Dickinson was forced to exit early because of a nagging injury. It was also the fourth time that Blashill has been down to only ten forwards on the bench for the third period. All four of those games have resulted in losses.
Blashill said after the game that Dickinson is questionable for the upcoming game against the Oilers. However, given how much this has already affected him this season, I’d anticipate the Blackhawks to be without their third-line center on Saturday.
On the bright side, Ilya Mikheyev seems likely to make his return after missing the past two games. Without Dickinson, Chicago certainly could use Mikheyev’s defensive abilities to try to slow down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
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