Levshunov gets promotion, as Blackhawks host Foligno, Wild

Chicago Blackhawks (25-30-11, 61 pts) vs Minnesota Wild 38-18-12 (88 pts)
6:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: TNT (Albert/Olczyk/Boucher
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota start a home-and-home set of games tonight at the United Center. They will meet again for the fourth and final time this season in St. Paul on Thursday night. The Wild have not been overly impressive since the Olympic break, with just four wins in 10 games and three straight losses. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have gone 3-2-2 since March 1.

This hasn’t been much of a rivalry of late, as the Wild has dominated the series. They have an 18-game point streak against the Blackhawks, going 17-0-1 since Feb. 2, 2020. The Blackhawks haven’t beaten Minnesota in regulation since Dec. 15, 2019. That was before we even knew what COVID was. Patrick Kane had a hat trick that night, and Jonathan Toews chipped in with three assists.

Both games this season have gone past regulation. You might remember the bogus interference call in overtime against Ilya Mikheyev in the first meeting, where the Wild scored the game-winning goal shortly after. In the second meeting, the Blackhawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead before losing 4-3 in a shootout. One of head coach Jeff Blashill’s biggest talking points this season has been his young team learning to close out games. Let’s see if they have learned their lessons from the first two games this season.

“Every game is a different animal,” Blashill said. “We want to continue to grow. We’ve talked about how meaningful these games are for our team. Now you get a chance to play one of the very best teams in the league. We want to be in these spots. We’ve done a decent job of making them defend. If you have to defend their top players all night, it’s a really tough night. So, if you can make them defend, it makes it a little bit easier.

Nick Foligno’s Return

The day after Nick Foligno was traded to the Wild, Connor Bedard joked that he’d better keep his head up when he plays the Blackhawks. With the way Bedard has been engaged lately, maybe that wasn’t that much of a joke.

Foligno’s captaincy won’t go down as one of the best in team history, as he wore the C during three losing seasons. However, if this rebuild goes right, it will rank among the most important in team history.

“It will be a little weird,” Bedard said about playing Foligno tonight. “He was great with all of us. All our older guys were really patient. We’re really grateful for that. He was the leader of that. There is a lot of stuff we can thank him for. But, it’s an exciting opportunity for him to be with his brother and contending.”

Foligno took on a role that many veterans at the end of their careers wouldn’t want, especially those who haven’t won a Stanley Cup. Instead of chasing that elusive championship, he came to Chicago to mentor a young team in the infancy stages of a long rebuild. He left this team better than it was when he got here.

“It hurt more leaving than I thought it would,” Foligno told Joe Smith of The Athletic. “I really fell in love with that group. Not just the group of players. The staff.  There’s obviously things you’re still going to improve, but they’re on the right trajectory. It was hard to let go, because it was kind of like your baby, right? When you’re really proud of where you came from. I just felt like you were leaving your kids.

“You just want them to do so well, and it’s a weird feeling, because I’m coming here to beat them. And that’s the competitor in me. But you secretly know that’s a team that I’m going to cheer for for a lot of years. I’ll just be really proud, like an older brother.”

Foligno went out to dinner with a group of his former teammates last night, including Bedard, but it will be all business once the puck drops. You can bet the pupils want to dish out the lesson to the teacher tonight.

Artyom Levshunov Gets Rewarded

When the Blackhawks took line rushes at practice yesterday, the defensive pairs looked different. Louis Crevier was no longer with Alex Vlasic on the top pairing. That spot was filled by Artyom Levshunov.

“I thought Arty played his best game of the year in the last game,” Blashill said. “Certainly, from the defensive and physicality side. Ultimately, it’s a little bit of a reward for his play. When he can defend great and be super physical and then add points, that’s a pretty special player in this league. So, if he can do that, it will be huge for him and us.”

Levshunov has made great strides since sitting out the last three games before the Olympic break. He took the messaging to heart, worked hard, and now finds himself on the top pair tonight. That is progress and what you want to see from one of your top prospects.

Blashill has increased his responsibilities, and Connor Murphy's trade expedited that a bit. Levshunov has gotten time on the penalty kill, and Blashill said he’s “getting there” when it comes to being a good penalty killer. He credited his ability to make good defensive reads when the play becomes chaotic. That is not something that can be coached. It’s those instincts that make him such an exciting prospect.

I have a feeling that we’ll see seven defensemen tonight, as Matt Grzelyck rotated in and out of rushes yesterday. He’s not been a scratch yet this season, and with 11 forwards, he can find some ideal moments for Bedard to get a few extra shifts away from Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber.

Nick Lardis Still Learning

Blashill holds his younger players to a higher standard than the veterans; that has become clear. That’s a good thing. He’s identified the players who will be a big part of this roster as they compete for a playoff spot again, and wants them to earn their spots now. We are seeing him give the same tough love to Nick Lardis as he has to Levshunov.

“He’s done fine,” Blashill said of Lardis. “There are certain things he’s going to have to continue to get better at. His play on breakouts, his board play. He’s got a natural tendency not to want to skate with the puck, and that’s something we talked about before he left – to make sure he gets it and goes. The biggest thing for him is to show us the depth of his game – that he can add offense without having to be on with the very best players on the team. If you can do that, that’s a real commodity. He’s working towards learning that.”

I know we all want to see Lardis move up to Bedard’s line in place of Andre Burakovsky. But when you listen to his explanation of why that hasn’t happened yet, it does make sense, whether you agree with it or not. Lardis has gotten some shifts with Bedard in the last couple of games, so if Blashill does go with only 11 forwards tonight, expect to see them together again.

Season Series

11/26 vs MIN, 3-4 L (OT)
1/27 @ MIN, 3-4 L (SO)
3/17 vs MIN
3/19 @ MIN

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 (53)

Wild Team Leaders

G-Matt Boldy/Kirill Kaprizov (38)
A-Quinn Hughes (61)
P-Kaprizov (79)
PPG-Kaprizov16)
GWG-Kaprizov (5)
SOG-Kaprizov (236)
PIM-Michael McCarron (75)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.61 (30th)
GA/G-3.15 (23rd)
PP%-19.4 (21st)
PK%-84.9 (1st)
SOG/G-24.4 (32nd)
SA/G-29.3 (23rd)
FO%-46.7 (30th)
PIM/G-9:20 (21st)

Wild Team Stats

GF/G-3.26 (12th)
GA/G-2.81 (5th)
PP%-24.8 (5th)
PK%-79.0 (17th)
SOG/G-29.1 (8th)
SA/G-29.9 (30th)
FO%-46.6 (31st)
PIM/G-7:23 (4th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

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

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

Scratched
F- Sam Lafferty

Injured
F-Oliver Moore (lower body)

Wild Probable Lines

Forwards
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Marcu Johansson-Joel Erikisson Ek-Matt Boldy
Nick Foligno-Danila Yurov-Vladimir Tarasenko
Nico Sturm-Michael McCarron-Yakov Trenin

Defensemen
Quinn Hughes-Brock Faber
Jonas Brodin-Jared Spurgeon
Jacob Middleton-Jeff Petry

Scratched
F-Robby Fabbri, D-Zach Bogosian, D-Daemon Hunt

Injured
F-Bobby Brink (upper body), F-Marcus Foligno (lower body)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (17-19-8, 2.64 GAA, .908 SV%, 3 SO) vs Filip Gustavsson (24-11-6, 2.50 GAA, .912 SV%, 4 SO)