The Chicago Blackhawks (13-12-6) square off with the Detroit Red Wings (17-12-3) in the back end of a back-to-back on Saturday night at the United Center.
It’s the second and final meeting between the two teams in 2025-26, with the Blackhawks winning 5-1 in Detroit on Nov. 9. Connor Bedard tallied three points to lead the way to victory, while Teuvo Teravainen, Andre Burakovsky, and Tyler Bertuzzi each added two points. Oliver Moore also recorded his first NHL goal late in the third period. Dylan Larkin tallied the lone goal of the game for the Red Wings.
For the first time this season, the Blackhawks are forced to play without Connor Bedard in the lineup on Saturday. Bedard suffered an injury in the final second, literally, in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. Head coach Jeff Blashill announced that Bedard wouldn’t play against the Red Wings during his postgame media session while the team was still in St. Louis. No further update has been given on Bedard’s status.
Chicago had a lackadaisical performance against the Blues, with a dismal offensive effort and a few shoddy defensive sequences that their opponent pounced on. Wyatt Kaiser and Andre Burakovsky were the two goal scorers for the visitors on Friday. The Blackhawks have now lost nine of their last 12 games (3-7-2) dating back to Nov. 20.
The Red Wings are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in their last time out on Thursday, with defenseman Simon Edvinsson scoring the lone goal. However, Detroit has gotten off to a tremendous start to December, with a 4-1-1 record in six games after losing four games in a row to close out November.
With 37 points through 32 games, the Red Wings currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They’re only one point back of both the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning and second-place Boston Bruins.
Helping steer the Red Wings to a strong start have been a pair of former Blackhawks in Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Kane, who’s in the midst of his third season in Detroit, has recorded 21 points (5G, 16A) through 23 games this season. “Showtime” is also just three goals shy of 500 for his career, a feat he could accomplish with a hat trick at the United Center on Saturday.
DeBrincat is Detroit’s leading scorer this year, with 34 points (16G, 18A) in 32 games. Chicago’s former second-round selection in 2016 (crazy how time flies) is on pace for his first point-per-game season with the Red Wings.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops at 7:00 p.m. CT in Chicago.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
It got dicey towards the end, but the Blackhawks held off a late push from the Los Angeles Kings to win 2-1. Connor Bedard scored once again, while Spencer Knight had another lofty performance in goal.
In one of the few forgettable performances so far this season, the Blackhawks were steamrolled 6-0 by the Los Angeles Kings in the second matchup in three days. The game was close through 20 minutes, but the Blackhawks surrendered six unanswered goals in the final two periods.
For the second time in as many nights, the Blackhawks were on the wrong end of a one-sided affair, getting throttled 7-1 by the Anaheim Ducks. What a disastrous way to end the West Coast road trip.
Following two disastrous defeats, the Blackhawks bounced back with arguably the top team performance of the season in a 3-0 shutout win over the Rangers. Connor Bedard tallied two points, while Spencer Knight stopped all 21 shots faced.
Well, that was a nightmare. Not only did the Blackhawks lose 3-2 to the rival St. Louis Blues, but star forward Connor Bedard suffered an injury in the final second of the game. Wonderful.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Nick Lardis — Frank Nazar – Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen — Ryan Greene — Tyler Bertuzzi
Oliver Moore — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Dominic Toninato — Ryan Donato
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Connor Murphy
Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov
Scratched
F — Sam Lafferty
Injured
F — Connor Bedard (undisclosed), F — Nick Foligno (hand)
***
The Blackhawks did not hold a morning skate on Saturday, as they traveled from St. Louis late Friday night. The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are unconfirmed.
Connor Bedard was ruled out by head coach Jeff Blashill after Friday’s game against the Blues, where the star forward suffered a right shoulder/arm injury in the final second of the contest. It’s the first time this season the Blackhawks won’t have Bedard in the lineup.
Nick Lardis, who was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Saturday morning, is expected to make his NHL debut versus the Red Wings. It’s unknown what line he’ll play on and who his linemates will be at this time.
Dominic Toninato is also expected to make his first appearance with the Blackhawks after signing a two-year, two-way contract with the team in free agency this past summer. Toninato was recalled from the AHL on Tuesday after opening up the season with the IceHogs. He’ll likely center the fourth line against Detroit.
Sam Lafferty was spotted skating with the injured captain Nick Foligno on Saturday morning, likely indicating that he’ll be the lone scratch for Chicago.
Red Wings Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat — Andrew Copp — Patrick Kane
Marco Kasper — Nate Danielson — Elmer Soderblom
Michael Rasmussen — JT Compher — James van Riemsdyk
Defensive Pairings
Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot-Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson-Jacob Bernard-Docker
Scratched
F — Jonatan Berggren, D — Travis Hamonic
Injured
F — Mason Appleton (lower body)
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Arvid Soderblom (3-5-1, 3.92 GAA, .877 Sv%, 0 SO) vs. John Gibson (8-7-1, 3.32 GAA, .884 Sv%, 1 SO)
Soderblom is expected to make his 10th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 26-year-old netminder stopped 46 of 53 shots faced in a 7-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in his most recent appearance on Sunday. Soderblom stopped 45 of 46 shots in a 5-1 win over the Red Wings on Nov. 9 in his lone career start against the team.
Gibson is expected to make his 18th start of the season in goal for the Red Wings. The 32-year-old veteran stopped 34 of 37 shots in a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames in his most recent start on Wednesday. Gibson is 6-10-1 with a 3.48 GAA, .891 Sv%, and two shutouts in 18 career games against Chicago.
2025-26 Results vs. Red Wings
The Blackhawks defeated the Red Wings 5-1 at Little Caesars Arena in the first meeting of the season and have a 13-4-3 record in the last 20 games against Detroit at the United Center.
11/09/25 — 5-1 W, Little Caesars Arena
12/13/25 — United Center
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (19)/Tyler Bertuzzi (16)
Assists — Connor Bedard (25)/Frank Nazar (15)
Points — Connor Bedard (44)/Tyler Bertuzzi (26)
GF/GP — 2.94 (20th)
GA/GP — 2.97 (15th)
PP% — 22.2% (10th)
PK% — 84% (6th)
FOW% — 46.4% (29th)
Detroit Red Wings:
Goals — Dylan Larkin (17)
Assists — Lucas Raymond (23)
Points — Alex DeBrincat (34)
GF/GP — 3.06 (15th)
GA/GP — 3.34 (25th)
PP% — 23% (8th)
PK% — 79.1% (20th)
FOW% — 52.1% (8th)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Detroit Red Wings (17-12-3, 37 points) @ Chicago Blackhawks (13-12-6, 32 points)
7:00 p.m. CT — United Center
Head Coaches — Todd McLellan (DET), Jeff Blashill (CHI)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), FDSNDET
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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