Blackhawks go back to seven defensemen, Soderblom gets the start versus Flames

Chicago Blackhawks (9-5-4, 22 pts) vs Calgary Flames (5-12-3, 13 pts)
7:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks are back on home ice tonight, riding a five-game point streak. They are hosting the Calgary Flames, the team this streak started against back on Nov. 7. They come into the United Center with the fewest points in the National Hockey League.

The Blackhawks have not been overwhelming favorites many times in recent years. But tonight is a game they can’t lose on home ice if they want to be a contender for a playoff spot. They are currently in the top seven in goals per game, goals allowed per game, and power-play and penalty-kill conversions. The Flames are dead last in scoring and on the power play. Anything less than two points tonight will be a disappointment.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for their team, and I’ve got a lot of respect for their coaching staff,” head coach Jeff Blashill said of the Flames. “This is a tough league right now. Everybody’s so close, and every game’s so close. I think back to that game, we get a big save, go down and score, and now it opens it up a little bit. But obviously, that can go the other way just as easily, and that’s where this league is. We know they’re a good team. We’re going to see their best, and we’re going to have to play great hockey.”

7-11 Open Again for Business

With captain Nick Foligno on injured reserve and Tyler Bertuzzi and Jason Dickinson both out again, the Blackhawks will return to their seven defensemen/11 forwards lineup. Sam Rinzel will return to game action after being a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

“It can be frustrating, mentally, going through it as a player,” Rinzel said about sitting out. “I’m always confident in myself. I know my game, especially when I’m playing well, is a confident game, and I’m making plays. It’s the little things away from the puck that I’ve got to get back to playing.”

Blashill called sitting the young defenseman a “reset,” and didn’t look at it as a punishment. It worked on Artyom Levshunov earlier in the season.

“Just getting back to playing the way that he’s fully capable of, and I know he can be because he’s done it this year,” he said. “This year, he’s been an elite player at times, and I can think of games when I walked away thinking he was the best player on the ice. There’s a balance when you’re a guy who has the offensive ability that he has. There’s a balance for him in particular when to control the puck, which is what he does really, really well, and when to make the play that’s available.

“Then the other thing we’ve talked about, just sensing danger. When there are times to realize I got to make sure I’m on the D side of somebody at the critical moment. Sam’s a really good player. Sam’s going to be a really good player in this league. It’s a really hard ask for all of our guys to be as young as they are on the back end and play as many minutes as they have, but it’s something that I think can accelerate their growth if they handle it right.”

Arvid Soderblom Gets the Nod

Even though Spencer Knight earned a shutout in his last start against the Flames, Arvid Soderblom gets the crease tonight. This means he will start two of the next three games, with the Blackhawks playing back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. Knight will likely start that first game against the Seattle Kraken, with Soderblom back in net against the Buffalo Sabres the following night.

“I think Arvid’s been in situations that are difficult at times,” Blashill said. “You get inserted in games like Detroit, where you’re coming back from a long road trip and you have a 1 o’clock game and you’re going to need some big saves at big moments, and he gave us those in that game. Honestly, from training camp on, he’s impressed me. I 

Soderblom has made one previous start against the Flames, way back on Jan. 2, 2022. He gave up four goals on 41 shots against a Calgary team that still featured Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. No player on the current Flames’ roster has a goal against Soderblom.

Will There Be Fireworks?

The first game of the three-game season series between these two teams had numerous alterations. Joel Farabee injured Frank Nazar with a cross-check and had to answer to Colton Dach. Nick Foligno dropped the gloves as well after injuring Zayne Parekh with a clean, hard hit. Blashill was asked yesterday if he felt there would be any carryover into tonight’s meeting.

“I didn’t even think about that until I rewatched the game,” he said. “I would say no because they were taken care of in each case on the ice. We’ll see because each game kind of takes on a life of its own. They're trying to compete their way out of the spot they’re in, and we’re trying to continue to compete up as far as we can.”

Season Series

11/7 @ CGY W, 4-0
11/18 vs CGY
1/15 vs CGY

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Connor Bedard (10)
A-Bedard (16)
P-Bedard (26)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi (5)
GWG-Ryan Donato (2)
SOG-Bedard (59)
PIM-Louis Crevier (25)

Flames Team Leaders

G-Blake Coleman (7)
A-Morgan Frost/Nazem Kadri (7)
P-Kadri (11(
PPG-Matthew Coronato (3)
GWG-Coleman (2)
SOG-Kadri (65)
PIM-Adam Klapka (31)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-3.28 (6th)
GA/G-2.56 (5th)
PP%-25.0 (7th)
PK%-84.8 (6th)
SOG/G-25.3 (28th)
SA/G-31.9 (32nd)
FO%-46.7 (29th)
PIM/G-10:36 (25th)

Flames Team Stats

GF/G-2.10 (32nd)
GA/G-3.00 (14th)
PP%-11.9 (32nd)
PK%-77.3 (24th)
SOG/G-29.9 (6th)
SA/G-28.7 (20th)
FO%-48.4 (21st)
PIM/G-10:30 (24th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Oliver Moore
Colton Dach-Ryan Donato-Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert-Sam Lafferty

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

Scratched
None

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (hip), F-Jason Dickinson (upper body), F-Tyler Bertuzzi (lower body), F-Nick Foligno (hand)

Flames Probable Lines

Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau-Morgan Frost-Matthew Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich-Nazem Kadri-Joel Farabee
Dryden Hunt-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg-Connor Zary-Adam Klapka

Defensemen
Kevin Bahl-Rasmus Andersson
Yan Kutznetsov-MacKenzie Weegar
Jake Bean-Brayden Pachal

Scratched
F-Sam Morton, D-Joel Hanley

Injured
F-Samuel Honzek (upper body), D-Zayne Parekh (upper body), F-Martin Pospisil (undisclosed), D-Henry Mews (knee)

Goaltending Matchup

Arvid Soderblom (2-2-1, 2.63 GAA, .913 SV%, 0 SO) vs Dustin Wolf (5-10-2, 3.01 GAA, .896 SV%, 1 SO)