Road point streak on the line as Blackhawks roll into Pittsburgh

Chicago Blackhawks (21-23-9, 51 pts) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (26-14-11, 63 pts)
6 pm CT – PPG Paints Arena
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks and their mothers are in the Steel City as they wrap up their season series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. They will look to avoid the season sweep as the Penguins won the first game at the United Center last month. The Blackhawks aren’t playing their second game in as many nights this time around, so hopefully the start is much better tonight than what we saw on Dec. 28.

The Penguins have enjoyed quite a bit of recent success against the Blackhawks, going 6-3-1 in the last 10 games. They have won three of the last four games at the PPG Paints Arena, including Connor Bedard’s NHL debut in 2023. That lone loss came at the end of the 2022-23 season in the infamous “Buddy Robinson Game” that knocked the Penguins out of the playoffs and allowed the Florida Panthers to sneak in.

As of now, the Penguins are in a playoff spot, tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division. They have been one of the biggest surprises in the NHL, going 11-2-2 since the holiday break. The Blackhawks will catch a break as Bryan Rust is still serving his three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser.

Depth Scoring vs Penguins

The Blackhawks' new top line of Frank Nazar, Bedard, and Teuvo Teravainen was terrific against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. They will garner most of the attention from the Penguins' defense tonight, and rightfully so. This will create an opportunity for the team’s veteran depth scorers to step up.

Captain Nick Foligno scored his first goal of the season against the Penguins in the first meeting. He has points in four of his last five games against them, with two goals and five points. Jason Dickinson has also found the scoresheet in four of the last five games versus Pittsburgh, putting up a goal and five points. Ilya Mikheyev, who scored in Minnesota, has two goals and six points in his last seven games against the Penguins, including two multi-point games.

Colton Dach will rejoin the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last three games. He will take Landon Slaggert’s place on the fourth line with Foligno and Ryan Donato. Dach had an assist in the 7-3 loss at the United Center last month.

Men in White

The Blackhawks have been a much-improved road team this season. They have 10 road wins already this season, after 29 combined over the past three seasons. They enter tonight on a five-game road point streak (4-0-1). A point tonight will give them their longest road point streak since they went 3-0-3 between Jan. 19 and Feb. 15, 2021.

Tyler Bertuzzi has excelled in the white sweater this season. He has three goals and six points in his five road games. He’s scored 15 of his 25 goals and 25 of his 39 points away from the United Center. Bedard has six assists in his last six road games and has five goals and 23 points in his 15 away contests.

Inside the Blue Paint

Arvid Soderblom will get the start in goal for the Blackhawks tonight. He is looking to build off one of his best starts of the season, a 31-save effort in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s struggled against the Penguins in his career, going 0-2-0 with a 4.12 goals against average (GAA) and .846 save percentage (SV%) in three appearances. Sidney Crosby has three career goals against Soderblom on six shots.

The Penguins are starting Arturs Silovs, who gave up three goals on 24 shots at the United Center. In his career against the Blackhawks, he is 3-0-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .917 SV%. Wyatt Kaiser has scored two of his nine career NHL goals against Silovs, including one in the first game of the season series.

As good as Silovs has been, the Blackhawks are catching a break by not facing Stuart Skinner. He’s been absolutely terrific since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 12. He’s started his Pittsburgh career by going 7-4-0 with a 2.31 GAA and .906 SV%. In five career starts versus the Blackhawks, he’s a perfect 5-0-0 with a 1.98 GAA and .925 SV%.

Season Series

12/28 vs PIT, L 3-7
1/29 @ PIT

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (25)
A-Connor Bedard (29)
P-Bedard (49)
PPG-Bertuzzi (9)
GWG-Bedard/Bertuzzi (3)
SOG-Bedard (136)
PIM-Colton Dach (45)

Penguins Team Leaders

G-Sidney Crosby (27)
A-Crosby (30)
P-Crosby (57)
PPG-Crosby (10)
GWG-Crosby/Bryan Rust/Justin Brazeau (4)
SOG-Rust (125)
PIM-Crosby/Parker Wotherspoon (34)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.66 (26th)
GA/G-3.08 (17th)
PP%-19.9 (17th)
PK%-85.5 (1st)
SOG/G-25.1 (31st)
SA/G-29.5 (25th)
FO%-47.3 (27th)
PIM/G-9:52 (24th)

Penguins Team Stats

GF/G-3.29 (10th)
GA/G-2.84 (8th)
PP%-27.4 (3rd)
PK%-83.6 (6th)
SOG/G-28.7 (12th)
SA/G-27.6 (13th)
FO%-50.5 (14th)
PIM/G-7:44 (8th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

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

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

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty, F-Landon Slaggert

Injured
None

Wild Probable Lines

Forwards
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Justin Brazeau
Evgeni Malkin -Tommy Novak-Egor Chinakhov
Rutger McGroarty-Ben Kindel-Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defensemen
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak-Kris Letang
Ilya Solovyov-Ryan Shea

Scratched
F-Kevin Hayes, D-Tony Clifton, F-Bryan Rust (suspended)

Injured
D-Ryan Graves (lower body), F-Filip Hallander (blood clot), F-Tanner Howe (knee), D-Caleb Jones (lower body), D-Peyton Kettles (shoulder), D-Jack St. Ivany (hand)

Goaltending Matchup

Arvid Soderblom (5-8-2, 3.75 GAA, .874 SV%, 0 SO) vs Artus Silovs (9-6-8, 3.00 GAA, .894 SV%, 1 SO)