Blackhawks Gameday: 3 things to watch against the Red Wings

Chicago Blackhawks vs Detroit Red Wings
7 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (in market)/ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: WGN 720 AM

After three road games to open the exhibition schedule, the Chicago Blackhawks made their United Center debut tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. The invaders from Motown beat the Blackhawks 3-2 to open the preseason last week.

Tonight is a big game for a handful of players who are still battling for roster spots. Meanwhile, the top six will look to continue to gel after a solid showing against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. Frank Nazar will dress for his second straight game after netting a hat trick in St. Paul.

The most newsworthy item to come out of today’s brief morning skate was the update on injured defenseman Alex Vlasic. Head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed he got cut by a skate, and they are just letting the wound heal. He will not play in any of the remaining preseason games, but the team is hopeful that he will be ready for opening night against the Florida Panthers next week.

Blashill also said Spencer Knight will play the entire game in goal for the Blackhawks.

A Night to Impress for Matt Grzelcyk

The Blackhawks brought in Matt Grezlyck into training camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO). Tonight will be a big night for him as he’ll slide into the top pair for Vlasic. He is still very much alive for a roster spot and earning an NHL contract. Getting an entire game alongside Sam Rinzel is a massive opportunity for him to make his case to the coaching staff and front office, demonstrating that he deserves to make the team out of camp.

Tonight’s contest is Grzelcyk’s season of the preseason. He played in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. In 15:45 of 5-on-5 ice time, the Blackhawks held a 13-12 advantage in shot attempts, while shots on goal were even at 8-8, and each team scored a goal. His pairing with Louis Crevier only surrendered two high-danger scoring chances.  

Oliver Moore & Ryan Greene Battle It Out

It certainly feels like Landon Slaggert will make the opening night roster, despite missing a lot of practice time with an injury. If Lukas Reichel is still on the team, it is unlikely that general manager Kyle Davidson will risk losing him for nothing on waivers. Colton Dach’s spot in the NHL is no longer in question after two solid outings.

That leaves Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene to battle for the final spot among the forwards. Blashill has them on separate lines tonight to get a better evaluation of them separately since they’ve spent so much time together in camp.

This is a big game for these two young players and could be the difference between starting the season in Chicago or Rockford. Greene might have the upper hand because of his two-way game, but Moore has shown how dangerous his speed can be on the ice.

“The biggest thing with Ryan is that he’s a cerebral player, but he has to make sure he’s skating into battles,” Blashill said. “If he skates into battles, he is really strong on his skates and can win puck battles. If you don’t skate towards the battle, you’re either not getting to the puck right away or you’re reaching for the puck.”

More Top Six Magic

For the second straight game, Blashill is dressing his opening night top six. This group was tremendous against the Wild on Sunday. In nearly 21 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, the two lines had advantages in shot attempts (19-15), shots on goal (11-5), goals (2-0), scoring chances (13-8), and high-danger scoring chances (5-4).

Chemistry is such an essential factor in NHL success, especially early in the season. Tonight is likely the last time we’ll see the top six altogether until the regular season begins in a week. Hopefully, Blashill learns from the mistakes of the previous two head coaches and keeps both of these lines together for an extended period. Let Connor Bedard and Nazar benefit from having the same veteran wingers every night and watch them take off.

Probable Blackhawks Lines

Forwards

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

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Ethan Del Mastro-Connor Murphy

Goaltenders

Spencer Knight
Arvid Soderlbom

Red Wings Roster