The Chicago Blackhawks (22-25-9) play their final game before the Olympic break against the Columbus Blue Jackets (28-20-4) at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday.
It’s the second and final meeting of the 2025-26 season between the two teams, with Columbus winning the first matchup 4-2 at the United Center just five days ago. Charlie Coyle factored in on all four goals, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist. Mathieu Olivier was the other goal scorer for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 22 of 24 shots to record the win in net. Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar were the two goal scorers for Chicago.
Last time out, the Blackhawks snapped their five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Ryan Donato (2G, 2A) and Ilya Mikheyev (1G, 3A) each recorded four points, while Jason Dickinson (2A) and Connor Murphy (1G, 1A) had multi-point efforts. Connor Bedard and Sam Rinzel also found the back of the net. Macklin Celebrini recorded two points (1G, 1A) for San Jose in the loss.
The Blue Jackets are playing the back end of a back-to-back against the Blackhawks and are coming off a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Dante Fabbro and Olivier (2) tallied the goals in the win. Elvis Merzlikins stopped all 24 shots faced to record the shutout.
Columbus enters Wednesday riding a six-game winning streak and has a 9-1-0 in 10 games since Rick Bowness took over as head coach. With 63 points through 55 games this season, the Blue Jackets are only five points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wildcard playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Here’s everything else to note before the puck drops at 7:00 p.m. CT in Columbus.
Blackhawks Game Recaps (Last Five Games)
There goes the three-game point streak. Over their last seven outings, 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.
Such a promising start gone to waste. The Blackhawks led 3-0 and were in firm control of the game, but couldn’t finish the job in the later stages. The Minnesota Wild rattled off three unanswered goals before the end of regulation and eventually beat the Blackhawks 4-3 in the shootout.
Well, that was ugly. Despicable defense in the second period led to a lopsided 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s now four losses in a row for the Blackhawks.
The losing streak has reached five games, as the Blackhawks were bested 4-2 by the Columbus Blue Jackets, closing out January on a sour note. On the bright side, Connor Bedard scored for the second straight game, while Frank Nazar netted his first goal since returning from injury.
In their final home game before the Olympic break, the Blackhawks snapped their losing skid with a 6-3 win over Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks. Connor Bedard scored for a third straight game, while the checking line of Ryan Donato, Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev combined for 10 points.
Blackhawks Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Frank Nazar — Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Teuvo Teravainen — Oliver Moore — Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Donato — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Nick Foligno — Landon Slaggert
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Scratched
F — Ryan Greene, F — Sam Lafferty, D — Artyom Levshunov
Injured
None
***
Nick Foligno will return to the Blackhawks lineup after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury. Foligno will replace Ryan Greene on the fourth line and will skate with Colton Dach and Landon Slaggert.
Artyom Levshunov will be a healthy scratch for a third straight game. Sam Rinzel remains in the lineup on the second pairing with Wyatt Kaiser.
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Mason Marchment — Adam Fantilli — Isac Lundestrom
Dimitri Voronkov — Sean Monahan — Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger — Charlie Coyle — Mathieu Olivier
Danton Heinen — Boone Jenner — Miles Wood
Defensive Pairings
Zach Werenski-Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov-Denton Mateychuk
Dante Fabbro-Erik Gudbranson
Scratched
D — Jake Christiansen, D — Egor Zamula
Injured
F — Kirill Marchenko (illness), D — Brendan Smith (knee surgery)
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (16-15-7, 2.61 GAA, .909 Sv%, 3 SO) vs. Jet Greaves (17-12-6, 2.69 GAA, .908 Sv%, 1 SO)
Knight will make his 39th start of the season for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old stopped 24 of 27 shots faced to record the win against the Sharks in his most recent start on Monday. Knight is 2-1-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .928 Sv% in two career starts against Columbus.
Greaves will make his 35th start of the season for the Blue Jackets. The 24-year-old netminder stopped 28 of 31 shots faced to earn the win against the St. Louis Blues in his last appearance on Saturday. Greaves has yet to face Chicago in his young NHL career.
2025-26 Results vs. Blue Jackets
Chicago has earned at least one point in seven of their last 10 games against Columbus at Nationwide Arena (7-3-0).
01/30/26 — 4-2 L, United Center
02/04/26 — Nationwide Arena
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Tyler Bertuzzi (25)
Assists — Connor Bedard (30)
Points — Connor Bedard (53)
GF/GP — 2.70 (26th)
GA/GP — 3.14 (19th)
PP% — 19.5% (19th)
PK% — 85.6% (1st)
FOW% — 47.1% (29th)
Columbus Blue Jackets:
Goals — Kirill Marchenko & Zach Werenski (19)
Assists — Zach Werenski (42)
Points — Zach Werenski (61)
GF/GP — 3.09 (18th)
GA/GP — 3.20 (22nd)
PP% — 19.9% (18th)
PK% — 76.9% (27th)
FOW% — 50.8% (11th)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (22-25-9, 53 points) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (28-20-7, 63 points)
6:00 p.m. CT — Nationwide Arena
Head Coaches: Rick Bowness (CBJ), Jeff Blashill (CHI)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Chelios), FDSNOH
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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