Levshunov, Burakovsky look to keep Blackhawks rolling against Blues

Chicago Blackhawks (17-18-7, 41 pts) vs St. Louis Blues (17-18-8, 42 pts)
8:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: TNT (Burke/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks are back at the United Center tonight as they host the St. Louis Blues. This is the third of four meetings between these two teams, and the first in Chicago. They split the two games in St. Louis. On Oct. 15, Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar shone on a national broadcast. The last trip down ended with Bedard injuring his shoulder as the clock expired.

Bedard still hasn’t returned to the lineup, but he took part in today’s morning skate and looks like he will be back very soon. The Blackhawks have figured out how to win without him, as they enter tonight with three straight wins and points in four in a row. The Blues have won their last two games coming into the United Center.

While these two teams are statistically similar, they are heading in opposite directions. The Blackhawks are a young team on the upswing, while the veteran Blues are still competitive, but their contention window is all but closed. A regulation win would put the Blackhawks ahead of their rivals in the Central Division standings.

Artyom Levshunov is Full Steam Ahead

The difference between what we saw out of Artyom Levshunov to start the season and where he is today is nothing short of remarkable. While he is still making the mistakes all young defensemen do, they are coming far less often, and his confidence with the puck is at an all-time high. He’s a high-event player who gets fans excited every time he has the puck on his stick.

“I think the last three games or so, Arty’s taken it to another level in terms of attacking the game offensively,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s something we’ve talked about for a long time. Why it clicked, I don’t know. This is something that’s been a constant message from us to attack the game. He’s so strong, too, that even when he gets himself in trouble in high ice, and I get really nervous, he seems to win the puck back and does all the stuff. It’s amazing, actually, because he’s really, really strong. We want to see him push his game that way, see what that ceiling looks like.”

Levshunov has earned Blashill's trust, who has no problem putting him on the ice in tough situations. He’s played over 23 minutes in seven of the last 10 games and has a goal and six points in that span. Being paired with Wyatt Kaiser has been the trick to unlocking Levshunov’s confidence. The duo has formed a solid pair that can both be active in the offensive zone while getting back quickly to defend. He is looking for his first point against the Blues this season, but he is a plus-3 in the first two games.

Things are Clicking for Andre Burakovsky

Andre Burakovsky was acquired in the offseason to be a puck-moving winger who can help Bedard. He’s filled that role perfectly, but had his game drop off a bit when Bedard went down to injury. He has regained his form of late, and his line with Ryan Greene and Tyler Bertuzzi has been fantastic the last few games.

“He’s a fun guy to be around, so he adds some stuff in the room that I think is really important,” Blashill said of Burakovsky. “He’s been good in those areas. He’s a puck-control guy who, when Connor was playing, I thought was a really good fit for Connor. He’s smart, he can play off him. I think the last couple of games, he’s really taken his game to another level without Connor. It’s the best he’s looked without Connor. That’s kind of what we needed. We needed everybody to raise their game a little bit, and he’s certainly done that.”

Burakovsky has five assists during his current three-game point streak. He set up two of Bertuzzi’s three goals in the win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. He has a goal and an assist in the two previous meetings with St. Louis. In 34 career games against them, he has 10 goals and 21 points, leading all current Blackhawks.

Offense from the Blue(s) Line

The Blues were going to be offensively challenged coming into the season, but a recent stretch of injuries has made matters worse. They will be without Nick Bjugsted, Dylan Holloway, Pius Suter, and Nathan Walker tonight. With the Blues being so thin up front, veteran blueliner Justin Faulk has stepped up.

Faulk currently leads St. Louis in goals (11), game-winning goals (3), and shots on goal (79). The 33-year-old defenseman is six goals shy of tying his career high of 17, set with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016-17. Scoring is nothing new for Faulk. This is his seventh season with at least 11 goals, and he’s got six seasons with 35 or more points. However, finding the back of the net was a struggle over the past two seasons, with just six combined goals in 138 games.

With the bounce-back season, of course, comes trade speculation. The Blues need to get younger, and Faulk could help with that. He has one more year left on his contract with a $6.5 million AAV, and if he keeps producing, a Stanley Cup contender could be calling. Not only would a trade clear the cap space, but it would also open up a roster spot for 2024 first-round pick Adam Jiricek to fill when he’s ready for the big club. Faulk isn’t phased by the trade talk, as he recently told Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.

“I’m under contract. I’ve got another year on it. I’ve got a job to do,” Faulk said. “Going back to when I traded here, I know other things can happen. I’m not naive. (But) it’s not worth the time to me to think about what could happen, what might happen. None of that matters until something does.”

Season Series

10/15 @ STL, W 8-3
12/12 @ STL. L 2-3
1/7 vs STL
4/11 vs STL

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (22)
A-Connor Bedard (25)
P-Bedard (44)
PPG-Bertuzzi (8)
GWG-Bedard (3)
SOG-Bedard (103)
PIM-Colton Dach (45)

Blues Team Leaders

G-Justin Faulk (11)
A-Robert Thomas (20)
P-Thomas (30)
PPG-Dalibor Dvorsky (4)
GWG-Faulk (3)
SOG-Faulk/Jordan Kyrou (79)
PIM-Tyler Tucker (43)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.76 (26th)
GA/G-3.12 (17th)
PP%-21.2 (12th)
PK%-83.8 (4th)
SOG/G-25.1 (31st)
SA/G-29.7 (27th)
FO%-46.4 (30th)
PIM/G-10:17 (27th)

Blues Team Stats

GF/G-2.49 (32nd)
GA/G-3.35 (27th)
PP%-17.3 (24th)
PK%-78.4 (20th)
SOG/G-24.6 (32nd)
SA/G-28.2 (16th)
FO%-50.8 (14th)
PIM/G-7:22 (5th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi-Ryan Greene-Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Donato-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Teuvo Teravainen-Oliver Moore-Nick Lardis
Colton Dach-Nick Foligno-Landon Slaggert

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

Scratched
D-Ethan Del Mastro, F-Sam Lafferty

Injured

F-Connor Bedard (upper body), F-Frank Nazar (upper body)

Blues Probable Lines

Forwards
Jake Neighbours-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich-Brayden Schenn-Jimmy Snuggerud
Otto Stenberg-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonathan Berggren
Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Mathieu Joseph

Defensemen
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Tyler Tucker-Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler-Logan Mailloux

Scratched
F-Robby Fabri, D-Matthew Kessel

Injured
F-Nick Bjugstad (upper body), F-Dylan Holloway (ankle), D-Torey Krug (ankle), F-Pius Suter (ankle), F-Nathan Walker (upper body)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (12-11-6, 2.60 GAA, .910 SV%, 2 SO) vs Joel Hofer 9-8-2 (2.88 GAA, .900 SV%, 3 SO)