The Chicago Blackhawks (28-35-14) play their final road game of the 2025-26 NHL regular season on Monday against Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks (36-32-7) at SAP Center. It’s the second of three meetings between the two teams in the season series.
In the first matchup on Feb. 2 at the United Center, the Blackhawks cruised to a 6-3 victory behind four-point performances from Ryan Donato (2G, 2A) and Ilya Mikheyev (1G, 3A). Connor Bedard (PP), Connor Murphy, and Sam Rinzel also scored for Chicago. Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Shakir Mukhamadullin were the goal scorers for San Jose. Spencer Knight stopped 24 of 27 shots in net to record the win.
Last time out, the Blackhawks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 road win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Sacha Boisvert scored his first NHL goal in the third period, which proved to be the game-winner, while Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen (PP), and Mikheyev (EN) also found the back of the net. Bedard tallied two assists to reach 70 points for the first time in the NHL. Arvid Soderblom made 25 saves to earn his eighth win of the year.
The Sharks are coming off a 6-3 home defeat to the Nashville Predators on Saturday, snapping a four-game winning streak and five-game point streak. San Jose rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game with goals from Nick Leddy, Celebrini, and Alexander Wennberg, only for the Predators to respond with three unanswered goals of their own in the third period. Yaroslav Askarov allowed five goals on 33 shots faced to record the loss in net.
With 79 points through 75 games this season, the Sharks currently sit two points back of the Predators for the second and final Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings (81 points in 76 games) are also two points ahead of them, but both teams have played one more game than San Jose. Every game from here on out feels like a must-win, especially in regulation, for all three squads.
Here’s everything else to note before the puck drops at 9:00 p.m. CT in San Jose.
Blackhawks Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Ryan Greene — Connor Bedard — Frank Nazar
Tyler Bertuzzi — Anton Frondell — Nick Lardis
Teuvo Teravainen — Ryan Donato — Ilya Mikheyev
Andrew Mangiapane* — Sacha Boisvert — Landon Slaggert
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Louis Crevier
Kevin Korchinski-Ethan Del Mastro
Scratched
F — Andre Burakovsky, F — Sam Lafferty, F — Dominic Toninato
Injured
D — Matt Grzelcyk (undisclosed), D — Artyom Levshunov (hand), F — Oliver Moore (lower body)
***
The Blackhawks did not go through line rushes at the morning skate, so their forward lines and defensive pairings against San Jose are still to be determined. The combinations listed above are from Saturday’s win over Seattle.
Andrew Mangiapane could return to the lineup after missing the last nine games due to injury. Head coach Jeff Blashill said that Mangiapane is available to return against San Jose, but did not confirm an official lineup.
Should Mangiapane play, Andre Burakovsky is expected to serve as a healthy scratch with Sam Lafferty and Dominic Toninato.
Sharks Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Collin Graf — Macklin Celebrini — Will Smith
William Eklund — Alexander Wennberg — Kiefer Sherwood
Igor Chernyshov — Michael Misa — Tyler Toffoli
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Ty Dellandrea
Defensive Pairings
Dmitry Orlov-Vincent Desharnais
Shakir Mukhamadullin-Mario Ferraro
Sam Dickinson-Nick Leddy
Scratched
F — Adam Gaudette, D — John Klingberg, F — Philipp Kurashev, F — Pavol Regenda
Injured
F — Ryan Reaves (upper body)Â
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (18-22-11, 2.71 GAA, .908 Sv%, 3 SO) vs. Alex Nedeljkovic (15-13-4, 2.91 GAA, .895 Sv%, 0 SO)
Knight will make his 52nd start of the season for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old allowed one goal on 33 shots faced to record the loss in his last start against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Knight is 2-1-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .896 Sv% in three career games against San Jose.
Nedeljkovic will make his 31st start of the season for the Sharks. The 30-year-old veteran stopped 19 of 20 shots faced to earn the win in his most recent start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Nedeljkovic is 3-2-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .888 Sv% in eight career games against Chicago.
2025-26 Results vs. Sharks
The Blackhawks have earned points in six of their last eight games against San Jose (6-2-0) and have posted a 3-2-0 record over their last five games at SAP Center. Donato is riding a six-game point streak (5G, 6A) against the Sharks, while Mikheyev has also logged points (4G, 2A) in five of his last six games in San Jose (6G, 7A).
02/02/26 — 6-3 W, United Center
04/06/26 — SAP Center
04/15/26 — United Center
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Tyler Bertuzzi (32)
Assists — Connor Bedard (41)
Points — Connor Bedard (71)
GF/GP — 2.56 (32nd)
GA/GP — 3.22 (25th)
PP% — 17.8% (24th)
PK% — 83.8% (2nd)
FOW% — 46.1% (31st)
San Jose Sharks:
Goals — Macklin Celebrini (41)
Assists — Macklin Celebrini (65)
Points — Macklin Celebrini (106)
GF/GP — 3.05 (17th)
GA/GP — 3.55 (31st)
PP% — 20.7% (16th)
PK% — 77.9% (21st)
FOW% — 47.6% (27th)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (28-35-14, 70 points) vs. San Jose Sharks (36-32-7, 79 points)
9:00 p.m. CT — SAP Center at San Jose
Head Coaches: Jeff Blashill (CHI), Ryan Warsofsky (SJS)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), NBCSCA, TVAS
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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