The Chicago Blackhawks (14-18-7) play their first game of the 2026 calendar year against the Dallas Stars (25-8-7) on Thursday night at the United Center.
It’s the second of three meetings between the two Central Division foes in the 2025-26 season. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 4-3 in a shootout just five days ago (Dec. 27) at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season, while former Star Jason Dickinson also found the back of the net. Rookie Nick Lardis potted the shootout winner to give Chicago the extra point. Nils Lundkvist, Justin Hryckowian, and Mikko Rantanen were the three goal scorers for Dallas.
Last time out, the Blackhawks lost 3-2 in a shootout to the New York Islanders in their final game of 2025 on Tuesday at the United Center. Lardis and Teuvo Teravainen scored in the second period to tie the game after the Blackhawks fell behind 2-0 early. Neither team scored in the third period or overtime, and Islanders captain Bo Horvat was the only player to find twine in the shootout.
Chicago finished December with a shoddy 3-9-2 record and currently has the third-fewest points (35) of any team in the Western Conference. The Vancouver Canucks (35) and Winnipeg Jets (34) are the only teams behind Chicago in the standings.
The Stars are playing the back end of a back-to-back on Thursday and lost on home ice to the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 in the front end on Wednesday. Mavrik Bourque opened the scoring for the Stars just 15 seconds into the game, only for the Sabres to respond with four unanswered goals. Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith allowed four goals on 27 shots faced.
Entering Thursday, the Stars have the second-most points in the NHL with 57 through 40 games. Dallas is also second in the Central Division standings, as the Colorado Avalanche (67 points in 39 games) is the best team in the league. However, the Stars have lost three consecutive games as they enter the United Center, with their last win coming nearly two weeks ago on Dec. 21.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. CT in Chicago.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
From bad to worse. Not only did the Blackhawks suffer a fifth consecutive loss, but Frank Nazar also got injured early in the 6-4 defeat to the Ottawa Senators. Nazar is expected to miss approximately four weeks after taking a puck to the face in the first period.
While the losing skid hit six games, the Blackhawks put together one of their best games of the month against the Philadelphia Flyers. But without Bedard and Nazar, the offense couldn’t get enough run support to come away with a low-event win. The Flyers walked out of the United Center with a 3-1 victory.
In their first game out of the Christmas break, the Blackhawks impressively took down the Dallas Stars, the NHL’s second-best team, 4-3 in a shootout. It’s the first win for Chicago since Connor Bedard got injured on Dec. 12.
The back end of a back-to-back continues to go horribly wrong for the Blackhawks. They’ve now been outscored 27-7 in four games when playing twice in as many nights after a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blackhawks rallied from an early 2-0 deficit but couldn’t complete the comeback in overtime. Bo Horvat scored the lone shootout goal to lift the New York Islanders to a 3-2 win.
Blackhawks Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Tyler Bertuzzi — Ryan Greene – Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen — Oliver Moore — Nick Lardis
Ryan Donato — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Nick Foligno — Landon Slaggert
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Scratched
D — Ethan Del Mastro, F — Sam Lafferty, F — Dominic Toninato
Injured
F — Connor Bedard (shoulder), F — Frank Nazar (face)
***
At the morning skate, the Blackhawks used the same forward lines and defensive pairings as they did against the Islanders on Tuesday.
Jason Dickinson (undisclosed) is expected to be a game-time decision after leaving Tuesday’s game early with an injury. Dickinson centered Chicago’s third line with Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev during the morning skate. Should Dickinson not play, Dominic Toninato will likely enter the lineup to play center.
Stars Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Sam Steel — Wyatt Johnston — Mikko Rantanen
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Mavrik Bourque
Justin Hryckowian — Matt Duchene — Jamie Benn
Oskar Back — Radek Faksa — Colin Blackwell
Defensive Pairings
Esa Lindell-Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley-Nils Lundkvist
Ilya Lyubushkin-Alexander Petrovic
Scratched
D — Kyle Capobianco, F — Adam Erne
Injured
F — Lian Bichsel (lower body), F — Tyler Seguin (ACL)
***
The Stars did not hold a morning skate on Thursday, as they traveled from Dallas to Chicago late on Wednesday night. The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are from last night’s game against Buffalo.
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (10-11-6, 2.65 GAA, .910 Sv%, 2 SO) vs. Jake Oettinger (16-6-3, 2.51 GAA, .910 Sv%, 2 SO)
Knight is expected to make his 28th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old netminder allowed two goals on 21 shots faced in a shootout loss to the Islanders in his most recent start on Tuesday. Knight is 2-2-0 with a 3.00 GAA and .894 Sv% in four career games against Dallas.
Oettinger is expected to make his 26th start of the season in net for the Stars. The 27-year-old stopped 30 of 33 shots faced in a shootout loss to Chicago in his most recent start on Saturday. Oettinger is 10-2-3 with a 2.33 GAA, .917 Sv%, and one shutout in 16 career games against Chicago.
2025-26 Results vs. Stars
12/27/25 — 4-3 SOW, American Airlines Center
01/01/26 — United Center
03/08/26 — American Airlines Center
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (19)/Tyler Bertuzzi (19)
Assists — Connor Bedard (25)/Artyom Levshunov (17)
Points — Connor Bedard (44)/Tyler Bertuzzi (29)
GF/GP — 2.74 (26th)
GA/GP — 3.18 (21st)
PP% — 20% (12th)
PK% — 83.6% (5th)
FOW% — 46.4% (31st)
Dallas Stars:
Goals — Jason Robertson (23)
Assists — Mikko Rantanen (39)
Points — Mikko Rantanen (54)
GF/GP — 3.43 (2nd)
GA/GP — 2.65 (5th)
PP% — 30.1% (3rd)
PK% — 83.2% (6th)
FOW% — 52.1% (6th)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Dallas Stars (25-8-7, 57 points) @ Chicago Blackhawks (14-18-7, 35 points)
7:30 p.m. CT — United Center
Head Coaches: Glen Gulutzan (DAL), Jeff Blashill (CHI)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Chelios), SN1, Victory+
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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