The Chicago Blackhawks had a bad game on Thursday night. They were run out of the building at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who beat them 6-2.
The good news for them, sitting at 21-24-9, is that they don’t have much time to sit there and think about the bad loss. They are right back at it on Friday with the 25-20-7 Columbus Blue Jackets in town for a match at the United Center.
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This will be a “Friday Night Hockey” feature with the team wearing their black alternate sweaters.
Scouting Columbus
The Columbus Blue Jackets are having a good season, but their chances of making it to the playoffs are slim in a loaded Eastern Conference.
They are 8 points out, but they are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and have won three in a row. Since hiring Rick Bowness a couple of weeks ago in a coaching change, they’ve been on a little bit of a run. If the run continues, they may find a way to get in, but there is a lot more work to be done.
Marchment – Fantilli – Marchenko
Jenner- Monahan -Johnson
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Sillinger -Coyle -Olivier
Voronkov-Lundestrom -Wood
Werenski -Severson
Provorov – Mateychuk
Zamula – Gudbranson
Merzlikins
Greaves
Zach Werenski, a defenseman, leads the team in goals, assists, and points. Driving that level of offense from the back-end is very impactful, and he is in the mix for the Norris Trophy this season because of it. This is the player that the Blackhawks will have an extra close eye on in their pre-game prep.
Adam Fantilli, their top-line center, went two picks after Connor Bedard in the 2023 NHL Draft. He is having a down year compared to last season, but he’s a big, strong center who can change the game on any shift. With the great wingers that he plays with, it’s a line for Jeff Blashill to think twice about when deciding on matchups.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators are the only two teams in the NHL that did not play on Thursday night. This game between Chicago and Columbus is the only one on the NHL slate for Friday night, and the road team will be fresher.
Elvis Merzlikins played in their last game, a win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, so Jet Greaves is a good bet to start against the Hawks.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks did not have a morning skate on Friday. If their lines have a shake-up, it won’t be revealed until warmups.
Landon Slaggert and Sam Lafferty were the scratches in Pittsburgh, but one of them could go in for Colton Dach based on how things have rotated in recent games. Nick Foligno also left the Penguins game with an injury, which could cause a change as well.
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Nazar-Bedard-Teravainen
Greene-Moore-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Donato-Foligno-Dach
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
If Foligno can’t go, and Slaggert draws in, someone who played wing on Thursday will have to play center on Friday.
Spencer Knight will start in goal for Chicago. They let Arvid Soderblom finish the game on Thursday, despite giving up six goals. He faced 44 shots, so it was hardly all his fault.
Knight playing won’t help if they play as badly defensively against Columbus as they did against Pittsburgh, but he gives them a chance to win every start.
Connor Bedard scored his first goal with a goalie in the net since coming back from his injury on Thursday, which was the one positive at the end of the game. He has looked more like himself lately, and he got one to go in. Will the floodgates open? This game against the Blue Jackets will tell the tale.
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How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it is available on CHSN locally. Nationally, it is available on the NHL Network. The puck will drop shortly after 7:30 PM CT.
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