The Chicago Blackhawks (8-5-4) play their second game of a four-game homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs (8-8-2) in an Original Six matchup at the United Center on Saturday.
Last time out, the Blackhawks blew a pair of late leads en route to a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night. Connor Bedard extended his point streak to nine games with his 10th goal of the season, while Landon Slaggert and Sam Lafferty each recorded their first goals of the year. But the Devils were led by young defenseman Simon Nemec’s first NHL hat trick, and he accomplished the feat with the overtime winner to give his group the extra point. Despite the loss, the Blackhawks picked up a point for the 11th time in their last 14 games.
The Maple Leafs haven’t gotten off to the most encouraging start, as they currently sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with eight wins through 18 games. Toronto has dropped four consecutive games entering Saturday and has surrendered 19 goals during that stretch. To make matters worse, Toronto will be without captain Auston Matthews against Chicago, as he was placed on injured reserve on Friday. Matthews is expected to miss one week with a lower-body injury. Scott Laughton and Chris Tanev are also out with injuries.
Here’s everything to note before puck drops at 6:00 p.m. CT in Chicago.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
The losing streak has reached three games after a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. The Blackhawks outshot and outpossessed the Kraken, but they only had one shot beat Joey Daccord. Chicago remains winless during their current road trip.
Spencer Knight was stellar in the opening 40 minutes, and Tyler Bertuzzi recorded a third-period hat trick to lift the Blackhawks to their first win on the current road trip. Finally, the losing streak to the Vancouver Canucks has ended.
Connor Bedard EXPLODED for a four-point performance, while Spencer Knight recorded his first shutout with the Blackhawks in a 4-0 win over the Calgary Flames. Bedard is now second in the NHL with 22 points, and Knight continues to play at a Vezina-level early this season.
The Blackhawks closed out their road trip with three consecutive wins after a 5-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Connor Bedard momentarily jumped into the NHL lead in points after recording one goal and two assists at Little Caesars Arena.
Andre Burakovsky, Jason Dickinson, and Frank Nazar were all out with injuries, but the Blackhawks still managed to claw their way to a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Tyler Bertuzzi — Connor Bedard –Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen — Ryan Greene — Ilya Mikheyev
Oliver Moore — Ryan Donato — Colton Dach
Landon Slaggert — Nick Foligno — Sam Lafferty
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Scratched
D — Sam Rinzel
Injured
G — Laurent Brossoit (hip), F — Jason Dickinson (upper body), F — Frank Nazar* (lower body)
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Andre Burakovsky will make his return to the lineup after missing Wednesday’s game due to an illness. He’ll play with Connor Bedard on the top line, and the other member of that trio, Tyler Bertuzzi, is expected to play after missing Friday’s practice session.
Jason Dickinson was on the ice for Saturday’s morning skate, but head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed that he will miss his sixth consecutive game. Frank Nazar, who’s missed the last two games with an injury, also participated but was deemed a game-time decision by Blashill.
The Blackhawks will roll with only six defensemen in their lineup for the first time since the home opener on Oct. 11, as Blashill has elected to give Sam Rinzel a reset. Rinzel will be watching from the press box for the first time as a professional, and things were trending in this direction after a season-low 11:29 of ice time on Wednesday. The 21-year-old hasn’t picked up a point in his last 10 games and has also struggled at times defensively. Perhaps this brief reset can help get him back on track.
Projected Maple Leafs Lineup
Forward Lines
Nicholas Robertson — John Tavares — William Nylander
Matthew Knies — Max Domi — Bobby McMann
Mattias Maccielli — Nicolas Roy — Easton Cowan
Dakota Joshua — Steven Lorentz — Calle Jarnkrok
Defensive Pairings
Morgan Reilly-Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit-Jake McCabe
Dakota Mermis-Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Scratched
F — Sammy Blais, D — Philippe Myers
Injured
F — Scott Laughton (upper body), F — Auston Matthews (lower body), G — Anthony Stolarz (upper body), D — Chris Tanev (upper body)
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (6-3-3, 2.46 GAA, .923 Sv%, 1 SO) vs. Joseph Woll (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 0.00 Sv%, 0 SO)
Knight will make his 13th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old netminder stopped 33 of 37 shots faced last time out in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Devils. Knight is 1-1 with a 3.73 GAA and .867 Sv% in two career games against Toronto.
Woll is expected to make his first start of the season after taking a personal leave during training camp. The 27-year-old netminder returned to practice this week for the Maple Leafs. Woll is 1-1 with a 2.59 GAA and .912 Sv% in two career outings against the Blackhawks.
2024-25 Results vs. Maple Leafs
Saturday marks the first of two meetings between the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs this season. Toronto won both matchups during the 2024-25 campaign, outscoring Chicago 9-3. However, the Blackhawks are 10-1-3 in the last 14 games against the Maple Leafs at the United Center and have earned a point in 23 of the past 29 meetings.
12/02/24 — 4-1 L, Scotiabank Arena
02/23/25 — 5-2 L, United Center
2025-26 Team Stats
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (10)
Assists — Connor Bedard (16)
Points — Connor Bedard (26)
GF/GP — 3.29 (10th)
GA/GP — 2.59 (3rd)
PP% — 26% (5th)
PK% — 84.1% (8th)
FOW% — 47.1% (27th)
Toronto Maple Leafs:
Goals — John Tavares (11)
Assists — Matthew Knies & William Nylander (17)
Points — William Nylander (25)
GF/GP — 3.61 (4th)
GA/GP — 3.83 (31st)
PP% — 17% (23rd)
PK% — 78.2% (19th)
FOW% — 55.9% (2nd)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Toronto Maple Leafs (8-8-2, 18 points) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8-5-4, 20 points)
6:00 p.m. CT — United Center
Head Coaches — Craig Berube (TOR), Jeff Blashill (CHI)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), SN, CBC
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Chelios)
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