The Chicago Blackhawks (13-11-6) play the front end of a weekend back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues (11-14-7) at Enterprise Center on Friday.
It’s the second of four meetings between the two teams this season, with the Blackhawks winning 8-3 on Oct. 15 in St. Louis. Connor Bedard tallied three assists, Lukas Reichel, who was still a member of the team at that point, had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Greene scored his first NHL goal. Tyler Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev, Alex Vlasic, Jason Dickinson, Ryan Donato, and Frank Nazar also found the back of the net in Chicago’s offensive onslaught.
Last time out, the Blackhawks earned a much-needed 3-0 win over the New York Rangers at the United Center on Wednesday. After surrendering seven goals and 53 shots in their previous contest on Sunday, the Blackhawks held the Rangers to only 21 shots, tying the fewest they’ve allowed in a single game this year. Louis Crevier netted the game-winning goal and his first career shorthanded tally, while Bedard scored his 19th goal of the season and added an assist. Spencer Knight recorded his second shutout in his opening 21 starts by stopping all 21 shots faced.
With 32 points through 30 games, the Blackhawks currently sit one point back of the second wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Edmonton Oilers (34 points in 31 games) hold the top wildcard position, and the San Jose Sharks (33 points in 32 games) are one point ahead of Chicago.
The Blues are playing the back end of a back-to-back on Friday and are coming off a dreadful 7-2 defeat to the Nashville Predators. Robert Thomas and Hugh McGing were the two goal-scorers for St. Louis, while starting goaltender Jordan Binnington was pulled after allowing six goals on 25 shots through 40 minutes. St. Louis also lost 5-2 to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday and has been outscored 12-4 in their past two contests.
With a 2-4-0 record in six games during December, the Blues have 29 points through 32 games and are the fourth-worst team in the Western Conference entering Friday. While St. Louis is only four points back of a playoff spot, the Blackhawks (32 points), Utah Mammoth (31 points), Seattle Kraken (30 points), and Winnipeg Jets (29 points) are all ahead of them in the standings. Only the Nashville Predators (28 points), Calgary Flames (28 points), and Vancouver Canucks (25 points) have fewer points than the Blues in the West.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops at 7:00 p.m. CT in St. Louis.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
For the fourth time in the last seven games, the Blackhawks squandered a third-period lead and lost by one goal. Some tough luck in Sin City also played a part in the 4-3 shootout defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights. Chicago is now 1-6 in overtime this season.
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.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Ryan Greene — Connor Bedard – Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frank Nazar — Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teravainen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Ryan Donato — Sam Lafferty
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Connor Murphy
Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov
Scratched
F — Dominic Toninato
Injured
F — Nick Foligno (hand)
***
The Blackhawks are expected to roll with the same lineup as Wednesday against the Rangers. Dominic Toninato will be the lone healthy scratch.
Blues Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Jake Neighbours — Robert Thomas — Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway — Brayden Schenn — Mathieu Joseph
Pius Suter — Dalibor Dvorsky — Robby Fabbri
Hugh McGing — Oskar Sundqvist — Aleksanteri Kaskimaki
Defensive Pairings
Cam Fowler-Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker-Logan Mailloux
Scratched
D — Matthew Kessel, F — Matt Luff
Injured
F — Nick Bjugstad (upper body), F — Jordan Kyrou (lower body), F — Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Alexey Toropchenko (leg burns), F — Nathan Walker (upper body)
***
The Blues did not hold a morning skate after traveling from Nashville late Thursday night. The projected forward lines and defensive pairings above were from yesterday’s game against the Predators.
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (10-6-5, 2.50 GAA, .916 Sv%, 2 SO) vs. Joel Hofer (4-6-2, 3.18 GAA, .890 Sv%, 2 SO)
Knight will make his 22nd start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old goaltender is coming off a 21-save shutout over the Rangers in his last outing on Wednesday. Knight is 1-1-2 with a 4.01 GAA and .862 Sv% in four career starts against St. Louis.
After Jordan Binnington started the front end of the back-to-back on Thursday, Joel Hofer is expected to make his 14th start of the season in goal for the Blues. The 25-year-old stopped 26 of 30 shots faced in a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins in his most recent outing on Tuesday. Hofer is 2-1-0 with a 3.58 GAA and .855 Sv% in three career starts against Chicago.
2025-26 Results vs. Blues
Friday is the second of four meetings between the Blackhawks and Blues in the 2025-26 season. The final two matchups will be held at the United Center in Chicago.
10/15/25 — 8-3 W, Enterprise Center
12/12/25 — Enterprise Center
01/07/26 — United Center
04/11/26 — United Center
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (19)
Assists — Connor Bedard (23)
Points — Connor Bedard (42)
GF/GP — 2.97 (20th)
GA/GP — 2.97 (16th)
PP% — 22.3% (10th)
PK% — 83.8% (6th)
FOW% — 46.5% (29th)
St. Louis Blues:
Goals — Dylan Holloway & Jake Neighbors (8)
Assists — Robert Thomas (14)
Points — Robert Thomas (21)
GF/GP — 2.53 (30th)
GA/GP — 3.56 (31st)
PP% — 19% (17th)
PK% — 77.8% (24th)
FOW% — 51.5% (12th)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (13-11-6, 32 points) @ St. Louis Blues (11-14-7, 29 points)
7:00 p.m. CT — Enterprise Center
Head Coaches — Jeff Blashill (CHI), Jim Montgomery (STL)
TV/Stream: ESPN+ (Buccigross/Campbell-Pascall), HULU, SN, TVAS
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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