The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues are going to get together on Wednesday evening. Last time these two teams met, on December 12th, Connor Bedard was injured with less than one second remaining in regulation time. He hasn’t played since.
Bedard will not suit up for Chicago in this one, but Jeff Blashill said that he is day-to-day beyond this game. A return on Friday against the Washington Capitals is in the cards.
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The Blackhawks and Blues have a tied season series. The Blues won that December game 3-2. Back on October 15th, the Blackhawks won 8-3. Both of those matches were played in St. Louis.
Scouting St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues have been better lately. They are on a two-game winning streak and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. At 17-18-8, they are still below NHL .500, but they are just three points below the playoff line.
Neighbours-Thomas-Kyrou
Buchnevich-Schenn-Snuggerud
Stenberg-Dvorsky-Berggren
Toropchenko-Sundqvist-Walker
Broberg-Parayko
Tucker-Faulk
Fowler-Mailloux
Binnington
Hofer
This is a St. Louis Blues lineup that can score, defend, and win games better than their record shows. It was only a matter of time before they started to break out, and we’ve seen it more in recent weeks.
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Last season, the Blues had a terrible start and made it all the way back into the playoffs. They even did that in 2018-19, the year they won the Stanley Cup. Will that happen again? A win against the Blackhawks here could get them within one point of a playoff spot if everything goes their way.
Robert Thomas is the driver for this St. Louis team. If he plays well, everyone follows. He should expect to see a heavy dosage of Chicago’s top defenders. The Blackhawks’ top players will frequently face Philip Broberg and Colton Parayko on the other side.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks are on a three-game winning streak. They have been a much better team again following the holiday break. Like the Blues, they have played themselves back into the playoff conversation in a lowly Western Conference.
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Connor Bedard skated at practice on Tuesday and at morning skate with a regular sweater on Wednesday. Without him for what the Blackhawks hope is one last game, the lines will go as follows:
Bertuzzi-Greene-Burakovsky
Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Moore-Lardis
Dach-Foligno-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Knight
Spencer Knight will be between the pipes on Wednesday. He played well in his last start, and he’s looking to keep the hot hand going. Overall, this has been a great stretch for both goaltenders.
For a lot of this season, Jeff Blashill dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Since Sam Rinzel’s demotion to the AHL, however, the traditional 12/6 lineup has been used. Right now, with Artyom Levshunov playing so well alongside Wyatt Kaiser, this group is solid.
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Without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar in the lineup, they’ve needed players to step up offensively. Andre Burakovsky, Ilya Mikheyev, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Teuvo Teravainen have done that.
Nick Lardis has been impressive alongside Oliver Moore. Ryan Greene’s game will reach a new level once he puts the puck in the net more often. His support of his line-mates and defensive game have been great otherwise.
Overall, to the surprise of many, they have found a way to overcome their offensive woes with the players that have been healthy enough to play. The first few games without Bedard were rough, but they’v started to adjust.
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 nationally on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max. The puck will drop shortly after 8:30 PM CT.
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