The Chicago Blackhawks (21-23-8) kick off a quick two-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild (29-14-10) at Grand Casino Arena on Tuesday.
It’s the second of four meetings in the 2025-26 season between the Central Division foes, with the Wild winning the first matchup 4-3 in overtime at the United Center on Nov. 26. The Blackhawks blew leads of 2-0 and 3-2 en route to the loss. Jason Dickinson, Connor Bedard, and Artyom Levshunov recorded the three goals for Chicago. Brock Faber, Nico Sturm, and Matt Boldy tallied the goals for Minnesota in regulation. Kirill Kaprizov (PP) netted the overtime winner.
Last time out, the Blackhawks’ offense was stymied once again in a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at the United Center on Sunday, which snapped a three-game point streak. Tyler Bertuzzi was the lone goal scorer for Chicago, tallying his team-leading 25th goal of the season. Ilya Mikheyev and Wyatt Kaiser picked up the assists. Spencer Knight stopped 20 of 24 shots for his 14th loss of 2025-26.
Minnesota is also coming off a loss to the Panthers, falling 4-3 in overtime at home on Saturday. Kaprizov (PP), Joel Eriksson Ek (PP), and Boldy (SH) were responsible for the Wild’s three goals in the game. Filip Gustavsson stopped 30 of 34 shots in net to record the loss.
The Wild are just 5-4-3 in their first 12 games of 2026 but still currently sitting in second place in the Central Division with 68 points. They are still 11 points back of the first-place Colorado Avalanche. Minnesota also is tied for the fifth-most points in the NHL.
Here’s everything else to note before the puck drops at 7:00 p.m. CT in Minnesota.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
The Blackhawks raced out to a 2-0 lead, only to surrender five unanswered goals for a third consecutive loss. The Boston Bruins spoiled Chicago’s celebration of “The Banner Years”, as several former Stanley Cup champions were in attendance to witness the 5-2 defeat.
It was a night to remember at the United Center, with Jonathan Toews returning for his first game in the building as a visitor. Toews’ homecoming party was spoiled by Spencer Knight, who stopped all 32 shots faced to record his third shutout of the season. Knight carried the Blackhawks to a 2-0 win over Winnipeg, which also ended the three-game losing skid.
Oliver Moore celebrated his 21st Birthday in style, scoring the game-winning goal in the shootout to lift the Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over Carolina. Moore also added an assist and got into a fight with Alexander Nikishin earlier in the game.
Arvid Soderblom had his best start in months, helping the Blackhawks steal a point against the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning. Soderblom stopped 30 of 31 shots, while Chicago recorded only 18 of its own, in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Lightning. That’s now points in three straight games for the Hawks.
There goes the three-game point streak. Over their last seven games, the Blackhawks have now scored only 11 goals. The offense was far too quiet once again in a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Blackhawks Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Frank Nazar — Connor Bedard – Teuvo Teravainen
Tyler Bertuzzi — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Greene — Oliver Moore — Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Donato — Nick Foligno — Landon Slaggert
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Scratched
F — Colton Dach, F — Sam Lafferty
Injured
None
***
The Blackhawks held an optional morning skate on Tuesday. The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are from Monday’s practice before the team boarded a flight to Minnesota.
Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard are set to play together for the first time this season. Teuvo Teravainen returns after missing the last six games with an upper-body injury and joins Nazar and Bedard on the first line.
Andre Burakovsky and Ryan Greene have been bumped down to the bottom six, where they will skate on the third line with Oliver Moore, who was moved back to center.
Wild Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Kirill Kaprizov — Ryan Hartman — Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson — Joel Eriksson Ek — Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno — Danila Yurov — Vladimir Tarasenko
Yakov Trenin — Nico Sturm — Vinnie Hinostroza
Defensive Pairings
Quinn Hughes-Brock Faber
Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Daemon Hunt-David Jiricek
Scratched
F — Tyler Pitlick, D — David Spacek
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (15-14-6, 2.58 GAA, .911 Sv%, 3 SO) vs. Filip Gustavsson (17-9-6, 2.62 GAA, .909 Sv%, 3 SO)
Knight will make his 36th start of the season for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old allowed four goals on 24 shots faced to earn the loss in his most recent start against Florida on Sunday. Knight is 0-0-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .867 Sv% in his lone career start against Minnesota.
Gustavsson is expected to make his 33rd start of the season for the Wild. The 27-year-old netminder allowed four goals on 34 shots faced in an overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in his last appearance on Saturday. Gustavsson is 6-0-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .929 Sv% in seven career starts against Chicago.
2025-26 Schedule/Results vs. Wild
11/26/25 — 4-3 OTL, United Center
01/27/26 — Grand Casino Arena
03/17/26 — United Center
03/19/26 — Grand Casino Arena
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Tyler Bertuzzi (25)
Assists — Connor Bedard (28)
Points — Connor Bedard (48)
GF/GP — 2.65 (27th)
GA/GP — 3.08 (18th)
PP% — 20.5% (16th)
PK% — 85.5% (1st)
FOW% — 47.1% (29th)
Minnesota Wild:
Goals — Matt Boldy & Kirill Kaprizov (28)
Assists — Kirill Kaprizov (36)
Points — Kirill Kaprizov (64)
GF/GP — 3.17 (15th)
GA/GP — 2.85 (9th)
PP% — 24.2% (7th)
PK% — 76.3% (27th)
FOW% — 46.5% (31st)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (21-23-8, 50 points) @ Minnesota Wild (29-14-10, 68 points)
7:00 p.m. CT — Grand Casino Arena
Head Coaches: Jeff Blashill (CHI), John Hynes (MIN)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), FDSNNO, FDSNWIX
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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