Blackhawks close out 2025 against the Islanders

Chicago Blackhawks (14-18-6, 34 pts) vs New York Islanders (21-14-4, 46 pts)
7:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks will play their final game of 2025 tonight when they host the New York Islanders for the first of two regular-season meetings. The Blackhawks are coming off a brutal 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders have five wins in their last nine games and find themselves in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Over the previous 13 meetings at the United Center, the Blackhawks are 10-3-0 against the Islanders.

It is a milestone night for the Islanders. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will both play in their 600th games, joining Denis Potvin and Stefan Persson as the only defensemen to play 600 games for the Islanders. Captain Anders Lee is one goal shy of 300 for his career. Hopefully, he doesn’t get to celebrate that achievement tonight.

Big Rebound for Spencer Knight

Spencer Knight made the worst start in his Blackhawks career, allowing four goals on seven shots before getting pulled halfway through the opening period. You have to imagine that Knight will be looking to make a statement tonight with a strong game.

The last time Knight had a poor outing, he gave up six goals to the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 6. His next start, he had a 21-save shutout of the New York Rangers. Can he repeat this feat against the other New York team? He is 3-0-0 with a .909 save percentage (SV%) and 2.67 goals-against average (GAA) in his career against the Islanders.

Right Combo for Nick Lardis

Nick Lardis has had an up-and-down start to his NHL career. He scored a goal against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 20 before scoring the game-winning shootout goal to beat the Dallas Stars on Saturday. He’s played with fellow rookies Ryan Green and Oliver Moore, as well as time on the fourth line with Dominic Toninato and Sam Lafferty.

Tonight, he will be on a line with Moore at center and Teuvo Teravainen on the other wing. Putting Lardis and Teravainen together makes all the sense in the world. Teravainen excels at playmaking and prefers to set up teammates, while all Lardis wants to do is shoot the puck. Give them a run on the same line and see what happens.

“Turbo is a really smart player,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “He does a good job of getting pucks to guys in good areas. Hopefully, he can help Ollie and Lardis sort through different stuff. He’ll also help them out defensively.”

Holding Down Horvat

Islanders center Bo Horvat is having a great season with 20 goals and 32 points through the first 34 games. This is his 10th 20-goal season and is on pace to score a career-high 48 goals. While his 17.1 shooting percentage suggests he will slow down at some point, he has a great chance to surpass his previous high-water mark of 38 goals. The 30-year-old veteran has enjoyed considerable success against the Blackhawks. In 24 career games, he has 13 goals and 22 points, and has scored a goal in each of the last four games.

Season Series

12/30 vs NYI
3/24 @ NYI

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Connor Bedard/Tyler Bertuzzi (19)
A-Bedard (25)
P-Bedard (44)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi (8)
GWG-Bedard (3)
SOG-Bedard (103)
PIM-Colton Dach (45)

Islanders Team Leaders

G-Bo Horvat (20)
A-Mathew Barzal (19)
P-Horvat (32)
PPG-Horvat/Matthew Schaefer (5)
GWG-Horvat/Anders Lee (3)
SOG-Horvat (117)
PIM-Scott Mayfield (53)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.76 (25th)
GA/G-3.21 (21st)
PP%-19.4 (14th)
PK%-84.0 (4th)
SOG/G-25.3 (29th)
SA/G-30.5 (29th)
FO%-46.4 (31st)
PIM/G-11:00 (29th)

Islanders Team Stats

GF/G-2.77 (24th)
GA/G-2.67 (6th)
PP%-15.4 (28th)
PK%-82.7 (8th)
SOG/G-28.4 (15th)
SA/G-28.6 (22nd)
FO%-51.3 (11th)
PIM/G-8:52 (19th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi-Ryan Greene-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Oliver Moore-Nick Lardis
Ryan Donato-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno-Colton Dach-Landon Slaggert

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy

Scratched
D-Ethan Del Mastro, F-Sam Lafferty

Injured

F-Connor Bedard (upper body), F-Frank Nazar (upper body)

Islanders Probable Lines

Forwards
Emil Heieman-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee-J.G. Pageau-Jonathan Drouin
Anthony Duclair-Casey Cizikas-Marc Gatcomb
Maxim Shabanov-Calum Ritchie-Simon Holmstrom

Defensemen
Matthew Schaefer-Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech-Tony DeAngelo
Marshall Warren-Scott Mayfield

Scratched
F-Maxim Tsyplakov, D-Adam Boqvist F-Kyle MacLean

Injured
F-Pierre Engvall (ankle), F-Kyle Palmieri (knee), D-Alexander Romanov (shoulder), G-Semyon Varlamov (knee), G-Ilya Sorokin (lower body)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (10-11-5, 2.65 GAA, .910 SV%, 2 SO) vs David Rittich (9-4-2, 2.30 GAA, .919 SV%, 2 SO)