Blackhawks short a defenseman in season finale with Golden Knights

Chicago Blackhawks (25-29-11, 61 pts) @ Vegas Golden Knights (30-22-14, 74 pts)
9 pm CT – T-Mobile Arena
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights will play the rubber match in their three-game season series tonight. The Blackhawks can take five out of a possible six points from the Golden Knights with a win tonight.

The road has not been a scary place for the Blackhawks this season, as they’ve earned 30 of their 61 points away from the United Center. They have points in eight of their last 12 road games, including in each of their last three. Teuvo Teravainen has three goals and seven points in his current five-game road point streak. A point tonight would push that streak to a career-high six games.

Considering both games against the Golden Knights this season have gone beyond regulation, there is a good chance the Blackhawks' road point streak gets extended. They are a different team than they were the last time they were in Las Vegas. Their shootout loss on Dec. 2 was one of nine games this season where the Blackhawks led in the final four minutes of regulation and lost. As they proved against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday, the young group is starting to learn how to close out close games. Goaltender Spencer Knight has noticed a change in the room over the past few games.

“Obviously, at the trade deadline, it sucks to lose a lot of guys,” he said. “Big pieces of your team, but also big pieces of your locker room, and great humans. I think a lot of guys are coming in and stepping up to fill roles, which is good. This time of year, you’ve got to just keep battling. Keep your head down and work.”

Big Challenge for Penalty Kill

The Blackhawks have the top penalty-kill unit in the NHL, but they will have a big test tonight. The Golden Knights have scored 21.3% if their 215 goals on the power play. They are fifth in the NHL with a 25.1% success rate and tied for sixth in power-play goals.

There are two big reasons for the Golden Knights’ success on the man advantage: Pavel Dorofeyev and Tomas Hertl. Dorofeyev is tied for second in the NHL with 16 power-play goals, and Hertl is tied for fifth with 13. Their 29 power-play goals between the two of them equal the amount the Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues have scored this season as a team.

The first key to slowing down the Vegas power play is staying out of the penalty box. Next is stopping Dorofeyev and Hertl, which is easier said than done.

Always Bet on Bertuzzi

Tyler Bertuzzi has enjoyed playing against the Golden Knights this season. He has four goals, including a hat trick on Jan. 4, and five points in the season series. In his career, he has eight goals and 12 points in 13 games versus Vegas.

Since the Blackhawks are in the gambling capital of the world, Bertuzzi picking up a point tonight is a safe bet. He scored his team-high 11th power-play goal and 28th overall goal against the Mammoth last time out. He has 18 goals and 31 points on the road this season. He also has two goals and four points in the four games since being named an alternate captain.

“It’s an honor to wear a letter,” Bertuzzi said. “I’m not going to be the loudest guy in the room, but I just try to lead on the ice and do it the right way.”

Kaiser Out

Wyatt Kaiser left Thursday’s win late with an apparent left shoulder injury. The young blueliner was on the ice for morning skate today, but he will not play. This sounds like a precautionary move, as head coach Jeff Blashill said he will be ready for Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Ethan Del Mastro will draw in tonight.

Season Series

12/2 @ VGK, 3-4 L (SO)
1/4 vs VGK, 3-2 W (OT)
3/14 @ VGK

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (28)
A-Connor Bedard (35)
P-Bedard (62)
PPG-Bertuzzi (11)
GWG-Bedard (4)
SOG-Bedard (172)
PIM-Louis Crevier (49)

Golden Knights Team Leaders

G-Pavel Dorofeyev (32)
A-Jack Eichel (50)
P-Eichel (74)
PPG-Dorofeyev (16)
GWG-Eichel (5)
SOG-Eichel (210)
PIM-Jeremy Lauzon (64)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.65 (27th)
GA/G-3.14 (21st)
PP%-19.8 (21st)
PK%-85.6 (1st)
SOG/G-24.4 (32nd)
SA/G-29.3 (23rd)
FO%-46.6 (30th)
PIM/G-9:07 (21st)

Golden Knights Team Stats

GF/G-3.26 (12th)
GA/G-3.08 (15th)
PP%-25.1 (4th)
PK%-81.9 (7th)
SOG/G-28.4 (13th)
SA/G-24.7 (3rd)
FO%-51.1 (9th)
PIM/G-7:08 (1st)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Teuvo Teravainen
Andrew Mangiapane-Ryan Donato-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Lardis-Sam Lafferty-Landon Slaggert

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Ethan Del Mastro-Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov

Scratched
None

Injured
F-Oliver Moore (lower body), D-Wyatt Kaiser (shoulder)

Golden Knights Probable Lines

Forwards
Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Mark Stone
Pavel Dorofeyev-Tomas Hertl-Mitch Marner
Brett Howden-Colton Sissons-Braeden Bowman
Cole Smith-Nic Dowd-Keegan Kolesar

Defensemen
Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin-Rasmus Andersson
Jeremy Lauzon-Kaeden Korczak

Scratched
F-Rielly Smith, F-Brandon Saad, D-Ben Hutton

Injured
G-Carter Hart (lower body), F-William Karlsson (lower body), D-Alex Pietrangelo (hip), F-Jonas Rondbjerg (lower body)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (17-18-8, 2.61 GAA, .909 SV%, 3 SO) vs Adin Hill (7-6-3, 3.24 GAA, .864 SV%, 0 SO)