Old guard vs new star as Blackhawks conclude road trip against Red Wings

Chicago Blackhawks (7-5-3, 17 pts) @ Detroit Red Wings (9-6-0, 18 pts)
12 pm CT – Little Caesars Arena
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks will be home and in their own beds tonight for the first time in 11 days. But first, they will take on the Detroit Red Wings before hopping on that plane to the Windy City. The Blackhawks are looking to win the final three games of this six-game road trip after victories over the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames. The Red Wings are on a two-game losing streak and have dropped three of their last four games.

Today will be the 756th all-time meeting between these two Original 6 franchises, who are both celebrating their centennial seasons this year. The Red Wings won both games against the Blackhawks last year and are 7-2-1 in the last 10 games of the all-time series. The Blackhawks have won 14 of the previous 23 games played in Detroit.

The Blackhawks have five points on their six-game road trip. Most fans would have taken the five points ahead of the trip, especially considering their poor record in the six cities visited recently. Coming back with seven points would be a huge success and give the Blackhawks something to build on as they play eight of their next nine games at the United Center.

Frank Nazar, Game-time Decision

While the vibes were high after the Blackhawks beat the Flames 4-0 on Friday night, there was still a lot of concern about one of their top young players. Frank Nazar left the game in the first period after being cross-checked in the leg area by Joel Farabee. Thankfully, head coach Jeff Blashill revealed that the injury did not appear to be serious after the game.

Nazar will be a game-time decision today. He will likely take the pregame warmups and see how he feels. Being in his hometown of Detroit will serve as extra motivation. Whether he plays or not, the injury is far less severe than initially feared, which is excellent news.

Old Guard vs New Star

Today’s focal point will definitely be the matchup between Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard. We don’t need to rehash all the accomplishments Kane had during his 16 seasons in Chicago. No matter how long he continues to play, he will always be a Blackhawk at heart. He returned to the Red Wings’ lineup on Friday after missing nine games with an injury. He has six shots on goal and was somehow denied a goal by Jonathan Quick on this play.

When Kane has played this season, he’s been effective with two goals and five points in six games. Today’s game will be his fourth ever against this former team. He has a memorable overtime goal and four assists in the previous three games.

Meanwhile, Bedard is one of the hottest players on the planet, having entered the upper echelon of elite NHL talent. He extended his point streak to seven games with a goal and three assists against the Flames. This is the second seven-game point streak of his young career, and he’s the first player since Kane in 2021-22 to record at least points during a point streak.

Bedard has yet to score a goal against the Red Wings in his career, so you know he’d love to change that today. He has three assists in his four contests against Detroit. He does have one goal on six shots against today’s starting goaltender, John Gibson, whom he faced three times when he was with the Anaheim Ducks.

Win the 5-on-5 Battle

Heading into the season, most of us wondered how the Blackhawks would find 5-on-5 success. It was a logical concern as they were 25th in 5-on-5 goals last season with a minus-57 goal differential. In 2023-24, they ranked 32nd in 5-on-5 goals and had a minus-84 goal differential. Their 5-on-5 play to start this year has been a pleasant surprise. Their 35 goals are the eighth-most in the league, and they are enjoying a plus-10 goal differential, thanks to the superb play of Spencer Knight.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings have not been a great 5-on-5 team so far this season. They are 27th in the league with 25 goals and a minus-9 goal differential. They are well below 50% in shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger scoring chances. Detroit has enjoyed success on special teams to help make up for the 5-on-5 struggles. They have the 14th-ranked power-play unit and the seventh-best penalty kill.

Season Series

11/9 @ DET
12/13 vs DET

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Connor Bedard (8)
A-Bedard (14)
P-Bedard (22)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi (4)
GWG-Donato (2)
SOG-Bedard (50)
PIM-Louis Crevier (23)

Red Wings Team Leaders

G-Dylan Larkin (8)
A-Alex DeBrincat (11)
P-Larkin (18)
PPG-DeBrincat (3)
GWG-Larkin (3)
SOG-DeBrincat (58)
PIM-Simon Edvinsson (16)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-3.20 (15th)
GA/G-2.60 (5th)
PP%-20.5 (15th)
PK%-82.5 (11th)
SOG/G-25.5 (28th)
SA/G-30.5 (29th)
FO%-47.2 (25th)
PIM/G-11:32 (30th)

Red Wings Team Stats

GF/G-2.87 (21st)
GA/G-3.07 (14th)
PP%-20.8 (14th)
PK%-87.5 (7th)
SOG/G-28.1 (18th)
SA/G-27.5 (15th)
FO%-51.5 (13th)
PIM/G-7:28 (7th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Tyler Bertuzzi
Oliver Moore-Ryan Donato-Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach-Nick Foligno

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

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (hip), F-Jason Dickinson (upper body)

Red Wings Probable Lines

Forwards
Emmitt Finnie-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond
Patrick Kane-J.T. Compher-Alex DeBrincat
Andrew Copp-Marco Kasper-Mason Appleton
James van Riemsdyk-Michael Rasmussen-Elmer Soderblom

Defensemen
Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot-Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Travis Hamonic-Albert Johansson

Scratched
F-Jonatan Berggren, D-Jacob Bernard-Docker

Injured
D-Shai Buium (undisclosed)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (6-3-2, 2.33 GAA, .926 SV%, 1 SO) vs John Gibson (4-4-0, 3.03 GAA, .890 SV%, 0 SO)