Blackhawks Game Day: 3 things to watch versus Jets

Chicago Blackhawks (5-3-2, 12 pts) @ Winnipeg Jets (7-3-0, 14 pts)
7 pm CT – Canada Life Centre
TV: CHSN (Ball/Granato)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Fraser)

The Chicago Blackhawks begin a very important six-game road trip tonight at the Winnipeg Jets. As Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times pointed out, the cities on this trip have not been kind to the Blackhawks. Over the past two seasons, the Blackhawks have been 1-15-1 in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, and Detroit. They haven’t won in Winnipeg since Feb. 14, 2022.

Meanwhile, the Jets have picked up right where they left off after winning the Presidents’ Trophy for being the top team in the NHL last season. They are in third place in the Central Division, two points behind the Colorado Avalanche and Utah Mammoth. However, they are only two points ahead of the Blackhawks. These two teams match up reasonably well, as the Jets have scored only one more goal than the Blackhawks, and both have allowed 25 through 10 games.

Ilya Mikheyev took part in the morning skate today and looks to be on track to rejoin the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Head coach Jeff Blashill said Mikheyev is a game-time decision.

A Hot Streak for Connor Bedard?

Tonight will be a big game for Bedard, who scored his first career hat trick last time out. He has four goals in his last two games and has done well against the Jets. In six career games, he has four goals and six points.

The beauty of his hat trick on Tuesday was that he showed he can score in different ways from different areas of the ice. If the Blackhawks are going to contend for a postseason spot this season, they need Bedard to take the jump to the superstar level. They need him to be the consistent offensive driver every night. Hopefully, Tuesday was the catalyst for the breakout season that most of us are hoping for. The season that takes him from being a very good young player to one of the league's elite talents.

Hello, Old Friend

Tonight will be the first time Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks are on the opposite end of the ice. Toews is a legend in Chicago and will have a statue bearing his likeness at the United Center one day. He captained three teams to a Stanley Cup and scored 372 goals and 883 points in 1,067 games. None of that matters tonight as he will be viewed as the enemy for the first time.

The emotions will run a lot higher when Toews returns to the United Center for the first time later in January. There are only five players left on this roster who have been teammates of Toews: Connor Murphy, Teuvo Teravainen, Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, and Jason Dickinson. That doesn’t take away any of the feeling from tonight’s game.

“I’ve still got a couple of good friends on the team,” Toews told reporters yesterday. “The training staff and a lot of those guys are still there. But, overall, there is still that connection with the organization and the city of Chicago, and there always will be. Chicago was my home for a long time. It’s days like these when you can stop for a second and reflect. I’m very thankful for how things went in Chicago. It was a dream.”

Spencer Knight Looking for First Win Against Jets

Spencer Knight is coming off a solid outing against the Senators, where he gave up three goals for the first time in five starts. He has been one of the best reasons for the Blackhawks’ early-season success, and he’ll want to get back on track against the Jets.

Knight has never beaten the Jets in his young career. In two career starts, he is 0-1-1 with a 4.85 goals-against average (GAA) and .877 save percentage (SV%). Kyle Connor has been a menace with three goals on nine shots in those two games. If Knight wants to make a push to be the third goaltender for the United States’ Olympic team, beating Connor Hellebuyck tonight would look good on his resume.

Season Series

10/30 @ WPG
1/19 vs WPG
3/3 @ WPG
3/31 vs WPG

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Ryan Donato/Connor Bedard (6)
A-Teuvo Teravainen (7)
P-Bedard (12)
PPG-Bedard (2)
GWG-Donato (2)
SOG-Bedard (30)
PIM-Louis Crevier (21)

Jets Team Leaders

G-Mark Scheifele (8)
A-Scheifele/Kyle Connor (7)
P-Scheifele (15)
PPG-Scheifele (3)
GWG-Scheifele (2)
SOG-Connor (37)
PIM-Logan Stanley (18)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-3.30 (15th)
GA/G-2.50 (3rd)
PP%-18.2 (21st)
PK%-86.4 (8th)
SOG/G-24.5 (31st)
SA/G-29.4 (21st)
FO%-47.6 (24th)
PIM/G-13:12 (31st)

Jets Team Stats

GF/G-3.40 (13th)
GA/G-2.50 (3rd)
PP%-27.2 (8th)
PK%-90.5 (2nd)
SOG/G-25.9 (24th)
SA/G-31.3 (30th)
FO%-53.3 (6th)
PIM/G-12:24 (29th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Tyler Bertuzzi
Ryan Donato-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach-Nick Foligno

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

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty, F-Landon Slaggert

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee)

Jets Probable Lines

Forwards
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi
Vladislav Namestnikov-Jonathan Toews-Alex Iafallo
Nino Niederreiter-Morgan Barron-Gustav Nyquist
Cole Koepke-Parker Ford-Tanner Pearson

Defensemen
Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Logan Stanley-Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury-Luke Schenn

Scratched
F-Brad Lambert, F-Nikita Chibrikov, D-Colin Miller

Injured
F-Cole Perfetti (ankle), F-Adam Lowry (hip), D-Dylan Smaberg (Wrist)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (4-2-1, 2.11 GAA, .930 SV%, 0 SO) vs Connor Hellebuyck (5-3-0, 2.26 GAA, .926 SV%, 0 SO)