The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night in St. Paul. This snapped a 19-game point streak for Minnesota in the head-to-head matchup, losing in regulation to Chicago for the first time since 2019.
The Blackhawks don’t have much time to celebrate that win, however, as they are at home on Friday for the second half of a back-to-back. They are going to face one of the few teams ahead of the Wild in the standings this season, the Colorado Avalanche.
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Scouting Colorado
The Colorado Avalanche have the best record in the NHL. At 44-13-10, they lead the league with 98 points. Over the last 20 games or so, however, they’ve been a good team but not a great team. There is another gear this team is capable of reaching, and they hope to get there before the playoffs begin.
For the Blackhawks, they will do what they can to keep them at bay for at least another game. It’s hard with the lineup that they have, including multiple game-breaking superstars.
Nichushkin – MacKinnon – Necas
Kadri – Nelson – Roy
Kelly – Drury – Kiviranta
Ivan – Bardakov – Brindley
Kulak – Makar
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Manson – Burns
Toews – Malinski
Blackwood
Wedgewood
Everything that the Avalanche does starts and ends with their two superstars, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. They are both top-five players in the sport. MacKinnon is second in NHL scoring with 111 points, while Makar is tied for third in points by a defenseman with 69.
Makar does a lot more than create an elite amount of offense. His ability to skate, close gaps, and make a breakout pass from the back-end is among the best in NHL history. As for MacKinnon, the only center in the same conversation with him right now is Connor McDavid.
The Avalanche have some tremendous depth as well, which is why they are so good, but a few players stick out above the rest. Martin Necas is an outstanding forward, and he has tremendous success playing on a line with MacKinnon.
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The other is Devon Toews, who thrives playing as a stay-at-home defenseman with Cale Makar. If the two are seperated, it is the coaching staff looking for a spark between their pairs.
Colorado traded for Nazem Kadri at the trade deadline. He played a huge role in them winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 before leaving for the Calgary Flames in free agency. They haven’t used him at center yet, but you can’t help but wonder if running Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, and Brock Nelson down the middle is their ultimate plan for the playoffs. For now, expect Kadri to start on the wing playing alongside Nelson.
Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Logan O’Connor, and Ross Colton all skated in Chicago this morning, but none of them will suit up against the Blackhawks.
In goal, it doesn’t matter if it’s Scott Wedgewood or Mackenzie Blackwood. Each of them is perfectly good enough to win every game with, and the way that the skaters defend as a unit in front plays a big role.
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Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks didn’t have a morning skate on Friday, so a lot is up in the air as far as their lineup goes. They called up Dominic Toninato from the Rockford IceHogs on Friday morning, which makes Sacha Boisvert’s NHL debut seem unlikely.
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Nazar-Teravainen
Mangiapane-Donato-Mikheyev
Lardis-Lafferty-Slaggert
Toninato
Vlasic-Levshunov
Kaiser-Rinzel
Del Mastro-Crevier
Grzelcyk
Soderblom
Knight
The Blackhawks went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild, and it worked out well for them. It won’t be known until Jeff Blashill speaks at 6 PM CT anymore on this lineup.
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History says that two of Landon Slaggert, Dominic Toninato, Matt Grzelcyk, or Ethan Del Mastro will sit, and the other two will play. With Spencer Knight starting on Thursday, expect Arvid Soderblom to get his first nod since Knight came back from illness.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found on CHSN locally. Nationally, it is available to stream on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:30 PM CT.
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