Chicago Blackhawks (13-11-6, 32 pts) @ St. Louis Blues (11-14-7, 29 pts)
7 pm CT – Enterprise Center
TV: ESPN+ (Buccigross, Campbell-Pascall)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
The Chicago Blackhawks make their second and final trip to the Gateway to the West during the regular season. The last time they were in St. Louis, they pummeled the Blues 8-3, and the national narrative about them began to flip. This win started to get the rest of the league to see them as an exciting team on the rise, rather than the woeful bottom feeders they have been for the past few seasons.
Connor Bedard recorded three assists that night, while Frank Nazar added a goal. After the game, the Blackhawks’ young dynamic duo was interviewed by the TNT studio crew.
Bedard and Nazar ain’t taking any 🤫 this season…
They join the boys after the Hawks massive 8 goal dub vs. the Blues ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/iwJkEsbxkr
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) October 16, 2025
You may have forgotten, but Lukas Reichel had two goals and an assist in the 8-3 win. That was his last stellar performance for the Blackhawks before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, where his NHL struggles continue.
Add to the Misery
The Blues have had a miserable start to their season. They lost 7-2 to the Nashville Predators last night, giving up four goals to Steven Stamkos. They have now given up four goals or more in 15 of their 32 games. They are 31st in the league in goals allowed, at 3.56 goals per game.
While a lot of goals are being scored against the Blues this season, they aren’t scoring much either. Their 2.53 goals-per-game average has them ranked 30th among 32 teams. When you can’t keep pucks out of your own net and struggle to score, you’re in for a long season. It’s somewhat surprising that they have 29 points at this point. They have been outscored 12-4 in their last two games, so the Blackhawks need to jump on them early and kick them while they’re down.
The Blackhawks are catching the Blues at a good time because they are just decimated up front by injuries. Nick Bjugstad, Zach Dean, Jordan Kyrou, Jimmy Snuggerud, Alexei Toropchenko, and Nathan Walker will all miss tonight’s game.
Goaltending Letting Blues Down
Last season, the Blues went on a terrific run after changing head coaches and bringing in Jim Montgomery. There were mere seconds away from upsetting the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. Things have not gone their way in the first half of this season, and there won’t be a “new coach bump” to turn things around.
Their scoring has dropped from 3.05 GF/G to 2.53. But they have gone from 2.82 GA/G to 3.56. The bottom line is their goaltending duo of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer is not holding up their end of the bargain.
Binnington has been solid the last two seasons, posting a combined 2.77 goals-against average (GAA) and .907 save percentage (SV%). He’s been a mess this season with a 3.49 GAA and .869 SV%, both career lows. Hofer hasn’t been much better with a 3.18 GAA and .890 SV%, and that includes two shutouts. That is a significant drop off from the 2.65 GAA and .909 SV% he had over the past two seasons.
Binnington started last night in Nashville, but Hofer came in for the third period. I’d expect Hofer to get the start tonight. Whoever the starter is, the Blackhawks need a shooter’s mentality. There is no such thing as a bad shot against a struggling goaltender.
Get on the Power Play
The Blackhawks have been very good on the power play away from the United Center. In their last eight road games, they have gone 8-for-22 on the man advantage, for a league-best 36.4%. Tyler Bertuzzi has five of those eight power-play goals. When the Blackhawks beat the Blues in October, they went 1-for-3 on the power play, with Bertuzzi providing the goal.
Getting on the power play against the Blues is no easy task. They take the fourth-fewest penalty minutes per game at 7:15. However, as we saw in the first meeting, the Blackhawks have a significant speed advantage. Use it to catch the Blues flatfooted are draw some stick penalties.
Season Series
10/15 @ STL, W 8-3
12/12 @ STL
1/7 vs STL
4/11 vs STL
Blackhawks Team Leaders
G-Connor Bedard (19)
A-Bedard (23)
P-Bedard (42)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi (8)
GWG-Bedard (3)
SOG-Bedard (101)
PIM-Louis Crevier (101)
Blues Team Leaders
G-Dylan Holloway/Jordan Kyrou (8)
A-Rob Thomas (14)
P-Thomas (21)
PPG-Thomas (3)
GWG-Jake Neighbours/Pius Suter/Jimmy Snuggerud (2)
SOG-Holloway (73)
PIM-Tyler Tucker (39)
Blackhawks Team Stats
GF/G-2.97 (20th)
GA/G-2.97 (16th)
PP%-22.2 (10th)
PK%-83.8 (6th)
SOG/G-25.4 (27th)
SA/G-30.6 (28th)
FO%-46.5 (29th)
PIM/G-11:10 (29th)
Blues Team Stats
GF/G-2.53 (30th)
GA/G-3.56 (31st)
PP%-19.0 (17th)
PK%-77.8 (24th)
SOG/G-25.3 (29th)
SA/G-28.0 (16th)
FO%-51.5 (12th)
PIM/G-7:15 (4th)
Blackhawks Probable Lines
Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teravainen-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach-Ryan Donato-Sam Lafferty
Defensemen
Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Connor Murphy
Scratched
F-Dominic Toninato
Injured
F-Nick Foligno (hand)
Blues Probable Lines
Forwards
Jake Neighbours-Rob Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Mathieu Joseph
Pius Suter-Dalibor Dvorsky-Robby Fabbri
Hugh McGing-Oskar Sundqvist-Aleksanteri Kaskimaki
Defensemen
Cam Fowler-Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker-Logan Mailloux
Scratched
F-Matt Luff, D-Matthew Kessel
Injured
F-Nick Bjugstad (upper body), F-Zach Dean (personal), D-Tory Krug (ankle), F-Jordan Kyrou (lower body), F-Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), F-Alexei Toropchenko (leg), F-Nathan Walker (upper body)
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)