After starting the preseason with three consecutive road games, the Chicago Blackhawks finally return to the United Center on Tuesday night for a matchup with the Detroit Red Wings. It’s the second exhibition meeting in seven days for these two teams, with the Red Wings winning the first matchup 3-2 in Detroit.
With the Blackhawks’ training camp roster now down to just 30 players, their lineup for Tuesday’s contest is very close to the one they’ll likely ice when the regular season begins against the Florida Panthers in one week.
#Blackhawks have announced their game group for tonight vs. Detroit.
FORWARDS: Donato, Moore, Dickinson, Foligno, Greene, Burakovsky, Dach, Bertuzzi, Teravainen, Nazar, Mikheyev, Bedard
DMEN: Murphy, Rinzel, Del Mastro, Kaiser, Grzelcyk, Levshunov
GOALIES: Knight & Soderblom pic.twitter.com/SB9TColmCz
— Jack Bushman (@JackBushman2) September 30, 2025
Connor Bedard, Ryan Donato, Frank Nazar, and Tyler Bertuzzi headline the top-six forward group for the second straight game. All four players performed well on Sunday in Minnesota.
Sam Rinzel, Ethan Del Mastro, Wyatt Kaiser, and Artyom Levshunov are part of the Blackhawks’ blue line and will each make their third appearance of the preseason.
Spencer Knight will make his second preseason start in between the pipes. He stopped 31 of 33 shots faced to earn the win in his preseason debut on Saturday in St. Louis.
Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill will look to keep his team rolling following two victories over the weekend against a pair of Central Division opponents. Blashill also would surely love to get a win against the team he formerly coached for seven years, especially in his first game behind the Blackhawks’ bench on home ice.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops in Chicago at 7 p.m. CT.
Blackhawks Preseason Notes
The Blackhawks opened the preseason with a lackluster 3-2 loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday, September 23rd, at Little Caesars Arena. Connor Bedard and Wyatt Kaiser were the goal scorers for Chicago.
After falling behind 2-0, the Blackhawks scored four unanswered goals in the third period to earn their first preseason win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, September 27th. That was fun.
Frank Nazar recorded a hat trick in the Blackhawks’ 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, September 28th. Big things are in store for Nazar in his first full NHL campaign.
The Blackhawks’ final preseason game is scheduled for Saturday, October 4th, against the Blues.
2024-25 Results vs. Red Wings
09/25/2024 4-2 L, United Center (Preseason)
09/27/2024 2-0 L, Little Caesars Arena (Preseason)
11/06/2024 4-1 L, United Center
01/10/2025 5-3 L, Little Caesars Arena
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
FORWARD LINES
Ryan Donato-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Teuvo Teravainen
Oliver Moore-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno-Ryan Greene-Colton Dach
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Matt Grzelcyk-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Ethan Del Mastro-Connor Murphy
GOALTENDERS
Spencer Knight
Arvid Soderblom
***
The Blackhawks’ top two forward lines appear to be set for the start of the regular season, but there are still spots being fought over in the bottom six. Colton Dach, Ryan Greene, and Oliver Moore, each vying to make the big-league club out of training camp, are all playing in their fourth preseason game.
Moore will play with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev on the third line, while Greene and Dach are together with captain Nick Foligno on the fourth line.
Defensively, Matt Grzelcyk gets in the lineup for the second time during the preseason. Currently on a PTO with the Blackhawks, the 31-year-old defenseman still has a chance to receive an NHL contract, given the struggles from a couple of the young blue-liners.
One of those defensemen who’s been struggling is Ethan Del Mastro. The former fourth-round pick didn’t fare well in either of his first two preseason contests, and he’ll need a bounce-back effort against the Red Wings to cement himself as part of the NHL group.
Levshunov, the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, stepped up his play to help the Blackhawks cruise to a 4-1 win over the Wild on Sunday. That was massive for his chances of making the NHL roster, as he played poorly in his first preseason game against Detroit last week. It appears that Levshunov has already locked up his spot, but another strong showing tonight will make it official.
Projected Red Wings Lineup
The Red Wings are playing the back end of a preseason back-to-back on Tuesday, meaning they didn’t have a morning skate before heading to Chicago.
Former Blackhawks Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Erik Gustafsson, and Ian Mitchell were all part of Detroit’s lineup in Monday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, so they are each unlikely to play against the Blackhawks.
Given that it’s the Red Wings’ preseason finale, there’s a decent chance that NHL stalwarts Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond receive their final exhibition reps at the United Center. Neither was in the lineup for Detroit on Monday.
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Detroit Red Wings (2-3-0) @ Chicago Blackhawks (2-1-0 Preseason)
7 p.m. CT — United Center
TV/Stream: CHSN+, CHSN App, Blackhawks team website, ESPN+ (outside Blackhawks & Red Wings broadcast areas)
Radio: WGN 720
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