Anton Frondell to make his NHL debut against the Islanders

Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-13, 65 pts) @ New York Islanders (40-26-5, 85 pts)
6 pm CT – UBS Arena
TV: CHSN (Ball/Granato)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks kick off their four-game road trip by wrapping up their season series with the New York Islanders. Nick Lardis and Teuvo Teravainen scored in a 3-2 shootout loss at the United Center back on Dec. 30.

The Islanders snapped the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 12-game point streak by beating them 1-0 for their league-leading ninth shutout of the season. The victory jumped them ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. To say tonight is an important game for them would be an understatement.

The Blackhawks are looking for their first regulation win at UBS Arena. The Islanders are 3-0-1 all-time against the Blackhawks in their home arena. The Blackhawks' lone win in the building came in a 3-2 shootout back on Dec. 5, 2021.

Connor Bedard will look to stay hot against the Islanders. In three career games versus New York, he has two goals and six points, including a goal and four points in his two games at UBS Arena.

One NHL Debut Tonight, Another Coming Soon

Anton Frondell is in New York and wearing his Blackhawks uniform. He will wear number 15 in his NHL debut tonight. He will take his first NHL shift on Bedard’s right wing. The third pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft will also be inserted into the top power-play unit. He’s getting the trial-by-fire treatment, which is exciting.

“Based on the level of play he’s had all year, with how well he’s played the last part of the year, the fact there’s zero practice time at this time of the year, I’m a throw-him-in-the-fire kind of coach,” head coach Jeff Blashill said of Frondell on Sunday. “Not always. It’s all situational. But in this one, he’s going to get thrown into the fire.”

Sacha Boisvert’s visa paperwork finally came through, and he skated with his new teammates. He rotated rushes with the fourth line. However, he will not play tonight, as they found out about his visa at the last minute. He will make his NHL debut at some point this road trip.

Burakovsky Demoted

After Sunday’s loss to the Nashville Predators, Blashill was asked about another subpar game from Andre Burakovsky on the top line. He didn’t give the answers most Blackhawks fans wanted to hear by saying he was playing with a lot of confidence despite the lack of production.

Later in his press conference, he alluded to Ryan Greene getting some time at center before the end of the season. This led many of us to conclude that Greene would be coming off the top line for Frondell instead of Burakovsky.

However, much to the delight of Blackhawks fans, Burakovsky was skating on the third line today while Frondell joined Bedard and Greene. Hopefully, getting the veteran off that top line and away from the scrutiny will help him finish the season strong.

Del Mastro Draws Back In

With Matt Grzelcyk not making the road trip due to an upper-body injury suffered on Sunday, Ethan Del Mastro will be back in the lineup tonight. He can get a head start on his audition for next season by getting at least these four games to make an impression.

The Blackhawks did not recall an extra defenseman for the road trip, which is a bit of a surprise. You’d think they’d want a seventh blueliner for the four-game road trip, but Kevin Korchinski remains in Rockford for the moment.

Season Series

12/30 vs NYI, 2-3 L (SO)
3/24 @ NYI

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Connor Bedard (29)
A-Bedard (37)
P-Bedard (66)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi (11)
GWG-Bedard (5)
SOG-Bedard (188)
PIM-Louis Crevier (57)

Islanders Team Leaders

G-Bo Horvat (29)
A-Matt Barzal (46)
P-Barzal (64)
PPG-Horvat (7)
GWG-Horvat (7)
SOG-Horvat (190)
PIM-Scott Mayfield (74)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.57 (30th)
GA/G-3.14 (22nd)
PP%-18.3 (22nd)
PK%-84.4 (1st)
SOG/G-24.4 (32nd)
SA/G-29.8 (28th)
FO%-46.6 (31st)
PIM/G-9:22 (23rd)

Islanders Team Stats

GF/G-2.85 (22nd)
GA/G-2.77 (4th)
PP%-16.6 (27th)
PK%-81.1 (10th)
SOG/G-27.9 (18th)
SA/G-28.1 (18th)
FO%-51.2 (6th)
PIM/G-7:20 (2nd)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Anton Frondell
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Nick Lardis
Andre Burakovsky-Ryan Donato-Ilya Mikheyev
Teuvo Teravainen-Sacha Boisvert-Landon Slaggert

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Artyom Levshunov
Wyatt Kaiser-Sam Rinzel
Ethan Del Mastro-Louis Crevier

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty, F-Dominic Toninato

Injured
F-Oliver Moore (lower body), F-Andre Mangiapane (lower body), D-Matt Grzelcyk (upper body)

Islanders Probable Lines

Forwards
Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Emil Heineman
Cal Ritchie-Brayden Schenn-Matt Barzal
Ondřej Palat-J.G. Pageau-Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean-Casey Cizikas-Marc Gatcomb

Defensemen
Matthew Schaefer-Adam Pelech
Carson Soucy-Tony DeAngelo
Adam Boqvist-Scott Mayfield

Scratched
F-Maxim Shabanov

Injured
F-Anthony Duclair (lower body), F-Pierre Engvall (ankle), F-Kyle Palmieri (knee), D-Ryan Pulock (lower body), D-Alexander Romanov (shoulder), G-Semyon Varlamov (knee)

Goaltending Matchup

Arvid Soderblom (6-11-3, 3.72 GAA, .879 SV%, 1 SO) vs David Rittich (14-9-3, 2.69 GAA, .898 SV%, 2 SO)