Blackhawks need a short memory and discipline against the Canadiens

Chicago Blackhawks (13-13-6, 32 pts) @ Montreal Canadiens (17-12-4, 38 pts)
6 pm CT – Bell Centre
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks are back at it tonight with the stop on their current three-game road trip through eastern Canada. They will try to avoid the season-series sweep at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, who spoiled the Blackhawks’ home opener back in October.

The start of this game will be interesting to watch. The Blackhawks are coming off their worst loss of the season on Tuesday. How will they react to giving up two goals in eight seconds in their heartbreaking defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs? Any professional athlete has to have a short memory, and the Blackhawks cannot afford to have any carryover into tonight's game. The best way to move on from that collapse is to win tonight.

“The reality is, if we play like that on a consistent basis, we are going to win lots of games,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “You have to understand the process, and we have to go back at it. We’re going to have to do a job of having a short-term memory.”

Levshunov vs Demidov

At no fault of his own, Artyom Levshunov will always be compared to Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov. Many in Chicago, myself included, wanted the Blackhawks to draft the talented young forward with the second pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. Because they went with Levshunov, some will always track what Demidov is doing in Montreal instead of focusing on the talented player that’s here.

Levshunov will be back in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch on Tuesday for being late to practice. He was scratched for the first meeting with the Canadiens, so this will be the only head-to-head meeting between these two this season. They faced off in Demidov’s NHL debut last season, where he had a goal and an assist early in the game. Levshunov had a good game that night, as the Blackhawks held an advantage in shots on goal and scoring chances, outscoring Montreal 1-0 while he was on the ice.

Ying & Yang

The Blackhawks and Canadiens are in similar spots. They are both young teams looking to become perennial playoff contenders. Montreal is at least a year ahead of Chicago, as they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, and are in the thick of the postseason race. That’s where the similarities end.

These two teams are polar opposites right now. The Blackhawks have used the stellar goaltending of Spencer Knight to overcome their lack of scoring right now, while the Canadiens are outscoring their lack of goaltending and defense. They are 31st in the NHL with 3.48 goals allowed per game. They have 38 points despite having a minus-11 goal differential on the season.

The Canadiens have a goaltending problem that could cost this team a deep run if it doesn’t improve. They have given up the third-most goals in the league despite being 15th in shots and scoring chances allowed, and 19th in high-danger scoring chances allowed.

The Blackhawks have to start shooting more. There is no such thing as a bad shot. Stop looking for the extra pass and get the puck on net. As Todd Matthews points out, Andre Burakovsky and Teuvo Teravainen are the most guilty of this. They have respective shooting percentages of 22.2 and 17.1. Get the puck towards the net!

Stay Out of the Box

You may not remember the home opener too much, as it feels like a lifetime ago. The Blackhawks gave the Canadiens 10 power plays. They converted two of those chances into goals, which was the difference in the 3-2 decision. Montreal boasts the fourth-ranked power-play unit in the NHL, with a 26.1% success rate.

If the Blackhawks can stay out of the penalty box and draw some penalties, they will improve their chances of winning. The Canadiens take a ton of penalties, as do the Blackhawks, but they have struggled at killing them off. Their 76.9% kill rate is 25th out of 32 teams. Blashill switched up his power-play units, so let’s hope they get to use them.

Season Series

10/11 vs MTL, L 2-3
12/18 @ MTL

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Connor Bedard (19)
A-Bedard (25)
P-Bedard (44)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi (8)
GWG-Bedard (3)
SOG-Bedard (103)
PIM-Colton Dach (43)

Canadiens Team Leaders

G-Cole Caufield (17)
A-Nick Suzuki (28)
P-Suzuki (37)
PPG-Suzuki/Juraj Slafkovsky (6)
GWG-Caufield (5)
SOG-Caufield (93)
PIM-Arber Khekaj (55)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.82 (25th)
GA/G-3.00 (14th)
PP%-21.3 (10th)
PK%-83.9 (4th)
SOG/G-25.5 (27th)
SA/G-30.2 (28th)
FO%-46.5 (29th)
PIM/G-10:56 (29th)

Canadiens Team Stats

GF/G-3.15 (12th)
GA/G-3.48 (31st)
PP%-26.1 (4th)
PK%-76.9 (25th)
SOG/G-25.2 (29th)
SA/G-27.5 (15th)
FO%-49.3 (21st)
PIM/G-10:45 (28th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Lardis-Ryan Greene-Oliver Moore
Colton Dach-Dominic Toninato-Ryan Donato

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

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty, D-Ethan Del Mastro

Injured
F-Nick Foligno (hand), F-Connor Bedard (upper body)

Canadiens Probable Lines

Forwards
Cole Caufield-Nick Suzuki-Zachary Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky-Oliver Kapanen-Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier-Jake Evans-Josh Anderson
Joe Veleno-Owen Beck-Brendan Gallagher

Defensemen
Jayden Struble-Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson-Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj-Adam Engstrom

Scratched
F-Jared Davidson

Injured
F-Kirby Dach (foot), D-Kaiden Guhle (lower body), F-Patrik Laine (abdomen), D-Mike Matheson (upper body), G-Sam Montembeault (personal), F-Alex Newhook (ankle)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (10-8-5, 2.55 GAA, .914 SV%, 2 SO) vs Jakub Dobes (11-5-2, 3.03 GAA, .892 SV%, 0 SO)