The Chicago Blackhawks wrap up their road trip with a stop in New Jersey to face the Devils, looking to salvage something, anything, from a stretch that’s quickly gone off the rails.
It’s been a while since the Blackhawks last saw the Devils — all the way back in mid-November — and the version of this team now feels pretty different from the one that was still hovering around the playoff picture at the time. The Devils spent the first couple of months flirting with relevance in the Eastern Conference race but they never quite found another gear, and they’ve been on the outside looking in since before the Olympic break. Lately, they’ve been respectable enough, going 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, but that kind of stretch doesn’t move the needle much when you’re chasing in a loaded East and with the team sitting nine points back from the final wild card spot.
One major issue with the Devils this year is the lack of offensive finish outside of a handful of players. Unsurprisingly, Jack Hughes leads all Devils’ player in terms of production, sitting at a over point-per-game pace (1.18) while being the spoon that stirs the offensive drink for the Devils. No one else on the roster comes close, but Jesper Bratt (0.83) and Nico Hischier (0.78) both continue to produce at a strong clip while handling the tougher matchups. There’s a drop off after that trio, thought, with Timo Meier (0.55), Connor Brown (0.55), Dawson Mercer (0.49), and Arseny Gritsyuk (0.47) all hitting solid but not outstanding middle-six numbers. Luke Hughes (0.53), Dougie Hamilton (0.48), and Simon Nemec (0.43) help a little from the defense, but there is a struggle to get consistent production out of the Devils’ roster.
In fact, the Devils’ team offense has gotten worse year over year. Two seasons ago they were sitting with the 12th best offense (3.22 goals per game), but that fell to 20th (2.93) last season and is now down to 27th this season (2.71).
Because the Devils played on Saturday, they did not hold a morning skate on Sunday. Below is the lineup from that game. Given it ended in a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, though, there could be some changes.
All systems go. pic.twitter.com/vm2PEpnjfe
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 28, 2026
The last two games for the Blackhawks have been really ugly — like, really ugly. There’s been plenty of losing this season, sure, but these last two might be flirting with rock bottom. The unraveling really started in the third period against the New York Islanders last Tuesday and, even then, at least there were two semi-competent — or at least entertaining — periods before everything fell apart. That was not the case in the 5-1 loss to the Flyers on Thursday, which was just gross, followed by the 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers that somehow managed to be even worse. Vomit-inducing might actually be underselling it.
This young Blackhawks team doesn’t need to win so much as it needs to figure out how to make the most of these final nine games and finish this season in at least a respectable way. The competition hasn’t exactly been daunting lately and they’ve still struggled, but the Devils are another beatable opponent — a team that’s spent most of the last two seasons stuck in an identity crisis with underwhelming offense, so-so defense, and middling goaltending. They also played on the road on Saturday, so they should be tired. If the Blackhawks can get back to something resembling those first two periods against the Islanders where there was pace, some structure, and actual push, they can at least make the game Sunday entertaining and give the kids something to build off down the stretch.
Another one of those kids joined the team for this game, with Kevin Korchinski called up from Rockford on Sunday morning after being noticeably absent from the IceHogs’ lineup on Saturday night. He was recalled due to an injury for Artyom Levshunov that coach Jeff Blashill disclosed after the morning skate:
Artyom Levshunov suffered a fracture in his left hand Tuesday against NYI and played through it for two games, Blashill said.
With more imaging, he’s now out of the lineup. Timeline TBD.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 29, 2026
Korchinski appears destined for the third D pairing opposite Del Mastro:
I don’t see Levshunov at Blackhawks skate. Here are the D pairs:
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Rinzel
Korchinski-Del Mastro
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 29, 2026
The Hawks top power-play unit is going to feature five forwards:
Bedard, Frondell, Nazar, Teräväinen and Bertuzzi on the top power play unit
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 29, 2026
Forward lines were reportedly tricky to figure out during the morning skate but there was one piece of lineup news to report for it: Anton Frondell will have his initial test run at center:
Anton Frondell will play center tonight for the Blackhawks.
Blashill: “He hasn’t played center all year, so it’s probably not the easiest position to put him in — I recognize that. But he’s played center a lot in his life, and I think he’s got traits to be a really good 200-foot…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 29, 2026
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Devils
45.75% (30th) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 51.66% (10th)
42.57% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 49.38% (20th)
2.55 (30th) — Goals per game — 2.71 (27th)
3.21 (25th) — Goals against per game — 3.06 (19th)
46.3% (31st) — Faceoffs — 50.8% (12th)
17.6% (24th) — Power play — 22% (14th)
84.5% (1st) — Penalty kill — 79.7% (15th)
(All stats from this season)
How to watch
When: 6 p.m. CT
Where: Prudential Center, Newark
TV: CHSN
Webstream: ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720