Chicago Blackhawks kick off tough four-game homestand against Vegas Golden Knights

The Chicago Blackhawks kick off a four-game homestand against the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday.

Chicago is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators this past Thursday. Despite the loss, the Blackhawks’ top line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Bedard, and Frank Nazar came to play as they contributed to both of the Blackhawks 'goals scored by Bedard and Alec Martinez. Bertuzzi got the assist on both goals.

Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom finished the game with a career-high 39 saves. The Blackhawks fall to 14-28-3 of the season.

It’s hard to believe that this is the first of three meetings this season between the two teams. They’ll face each other on Feb. 27 in Las Vegas and Mar. 28 in Chicago.

Team Notes…

• Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Blackhawks in goals (14) while Connor Bedard is first in assists (27) and points (40).

• According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, forward Patrick Maroon missed practice for a maintenance day, and Philipp Kurashev slotted at fourth-line right wing.

• Craig Smith remains sidelined with a back injury.

• The third line of Teuvo Teravainen, Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev swapped with the line of Colton Dach, Lukas Reichel, and Nick Foligno during practice.

The Other Squad…

The Vegas Golden Knights wrap up their three-game road trip with the second of a back-to-back set in Chicago. Vegas is coming off of a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

Tomas Hertl and Shea Theodore scored in the loss, while goaltender Adin Hill stopped 25 saves on 28 shots faced.

Pavel Dorofeyev leads Vegas with 19 goals, while Jack Eichel is first in assists (44) and points (55).

Keys to the Game:

1. Lock In: This will be a tough four-game homestand for the Blackhawks as they face teams that are playoff teams and getting off to a strong start will be critical for Chicago.

2. Stay out of the Box: Even though the Blachawks penalty kill ranks fourth in the league, they took three penalties in the first period alone against Nashville. Luckily, they were able to go 3/4 on the penalty kill but staying out of the box will be key especially since the Golden Knights powerplay is fifth in the league.

3. Play Better Hockey: The majority of this season, the Blackhawks haven't been playing their best hockey like fans wanted them too. Their performance Thursday against Nashville was one of the few best games from this season and the Hawks need to bring that same momentum back in tonight's contest.

How to Watch: Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CST on CHSN and all over CHSN markets via-the-air.