New look Blackhawks still have a game tonight versus Canucks

Chicago Blackhawks (23-27-10, 56 pts) vs Vancouver Canucks (18-36-7, 43 pts)
7:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

There haven’t been many games on the schedule this season where you can say it’s a game the Chicago Blackhawks should win. Tonight is one of those rare occasions as the NHL’s last-place team, the Vancouver Canucks, comes to town. This is the third and final meeting between these two teams, and the Blackhawks have a chance to take five out of a possible six points from the Canucks.

When you get to the “Probable Lines” section of our preview, take those with a grain of salt. The NHL’s trade deadline is at 2 pm today, so we could see some roster shakeups. Both the Blackhawks and Canucks are sellers and have already been active. The Blackhawks traded Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Colton Dach this week, while the Canucks sent Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets late last night. Jeff Blashill confirmed during his morning press conference that captain Nick Foligno was traded to the Minnesota Wild. Ilya Mikheyev’s name is still out there, so we’ll see if he’s still on the roster after the deadline passes.  

“Obviously, I’m happy for him, “ Blashill said of Foligno. “As I said yesterday, I wish we were 10 points in, and none of this happens, but we’re not, and for an opportunity to go and play with your brother, be part of something with your brother, I have a brother, and it would be an unbelievable thing. So, I know that means a ton to him and his family.

“He’s been awesome for me. Awesome for this organization, but for me personally coming in this year, having a chance to try to create culture, and with the help of Murphy, Dickey, Bert, all our vets, we had just great papa bears who have helped these guys along, and Nick certainly led us in that. He’s been a great sounding board for me, been around the league a long time, so when I had things that I wanted to discuss and get a feel for from a player’s perspective, I could always lean on him. He’s an outstanding human being, one of the best I’ve been around, so I’ll miss him personally, and we’ll miss him as a group.”

A Letter for Bertuzzi

In the last five days, the Blackhawks have traded away the entire leadership group. Connor Bedard was named an alternate captain after the Murphy trade and wore an “A” on his sweater in Winnipeg. He’ll keep it for the remainder of the season and will likely trade it in for a “C” before next training camp.

Blashill announced that Tyler Bertuzzi will wear an “A” starting tonight, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“It’s something that I’ve thought a lot about,” Blashill said. “There are other worthy guys, and we’ll see if we decide to do anything else. Tyler’s earned it big time. He’s a great voice in the locker room, fun to be around, but most importantly, the way that he’s played and his approach, he’s been a great model for winning hockey, night in and night out here. He cares defensively, he sacrifices his body, and he does all the little things offensively. He’s been an excellent example of what winning hockey looks like.”

If the Blackhawks add a third alternate captain, the logical guess is defenseman Alex Vlasic, who is now the longest-tenured player on the team.

Mangiapane to Make Debut

Yesterday, Blashill was unsure whether Andrew Mangiapane would be available tonight, but he is here at the United Center and will play.

“He gets an opportunity to have a clean slate here,” Blashill said on Thursday. “He’s been a good player in this league. He’ll get an opportunity to be a good player here. What I know about him is that he’s a guy who has that really good work ethic and speed. He’s kind of a dog on a bone. I think that fits into how we want to play. He’s got that with some offensive touch. Where he slots in which line, we’ll see as we go.”

The Blackhawks held an optional skate this morning, so we’ll have to wait until pregame warmups to see exactly where he slots in against the Canucks. He briefly met the media this morning and was excited for a fresh start after his time with the Edmonton Oilers did not go as well as he had hoped.

Kaiser Returns

When Wyatt Kaiser suffered a lower-body injury in the final game before the Olympic break, it looked like we might have seen his last game of the season. Fortunately, the injury was not as severe as it first appeared. With the three-week Olympic break, the young defender only missed four games, and he will return to the lineup tonight.

Kaiser has spent a lot of the season paired with Artyom Levshunov, but he took rushes with Sam Rinzel yesterday. Levshunov has played well with Matt Grzelcyk the last four games, so Blashill doesn’t want to mess with what’s working.

Season Series

10/17 vs VAN, 2-3 L (SO)
11/5 @ VAN, 5-2 W
3/6 vs VAN

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (26)
A-Connor Bedard (32)
P-Bedard (57)
PPG-Bertuzzi (10)
GWG-Bedard/Bertuzzi (3)
SOG-Bedard (158)
PIM-Louis Crevier (47)

Canucks Team Leaders

G-Drew O’Connor (14)
A-Elias Pettersson (24)
P-Pettersson (37)
PPG-Jake DeBrusk (11)
GWG-Brock Boeser/O’Connor (2)
SOG-DeBrusk (161)
PIM-Evander Kane (78)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.62 (27th)
GA/G-3.11 (19th)
PP%-19.7 (19th)
PK%-85.9 (1st)
SOG/G-24.5 (32nd)
SA/G-29.4 (24th)
FO%-46.9(30th)
PIM/G-9:19 (23rd)

Canucks Team Stats

GF/G-2.51 (31st)
GA/G-3.74 (32nd)
PP%-18.4 (22nd)
PK%-70.0 (32nd)
SOG/G-26.6 (24th)
SA/G-30.0 (26th)
FO%-48.3 (23rd)
PIM/G-8:14 (14th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

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

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

Scratched
D-Ethan Del Mastro

Injured
None

Canucks Probable Lines

Forwards
Nils Hoglander-Elias Pettersson-Linus Karlsson
Liam Ohgren-Marco Rossi-Brock Boeser
Drew O’Connor-David Kampf-Jake DeBrusk
Max Sasson-Teddy Blueger-Aatu Raty

Defensemen
Elias Pettersson-Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson-Tom Willander
Zeev Buium-Victor Mancini

Scratched
F-Evander Kane, D-Cole Clayton

Injured
F-Filip Chytil (face), G-Thatcher Demko (hip), D-Derek Forbort (undisclosed), D-P.O. Joseph (upper body), F-Jonathan Lekkerimaki (shoulder)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (16-18-8, 2.62 GAA, .908 SV%, 3 SO) vs Kevin Lankinen (7-20-4, 3.75 GAA, .873 SV%, 0 SO)