The Chicago Blackhawks are going to play the Dallas Stars for the second time in a week. Last Saturday night, they defeated them in a shootout. That is also Chicago’s only win since Connor Bedard went down with an injury early in December.
The Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL, which makes that win even more shocking. At 25-8-7, the Stars are second in the overall league standings. Anything but winning the Stanley Cup would be a bust for them.
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Scouting Dallas
The Dallas Stars have a great mix of super young players, guys in their legitimate prime, and aging veterans who have been around the block. They also have one of the league’s best goaltenders.
Steel – Johnston – Rantanen
Robertson – Hintz – Bourque
Hryckowian – Duchene – Benn
Bäck – Faksa – Blackwell
Lindell – Heiskanen
Harley – Lundkvist
Lyubushkin – Petrovic
Oettinger
The Dallas Stars come to Chicago in the second half of a back-to-back. Casey DeSmith was in goal for that game, so Team USA goalie Jake Oettinger will get the nod against the Blackhawks.
Despite losing to the Buffalo Sabres (10 in a row for Buffalo), the Sabres will make no lineup changes from that game other than the goalie.
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Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, and Mikko Rantanen are their top four forwards, but Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, and others are also incredibly productive. This is not an easy group to defend.
Add in all-world defensemen like Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley, and it’s a group that moves the puck well, grinds you down, and has a ton of skill. After last week’s loss to the Hawks back in Dallas, along with losing last night to the Sabres, expect them to have their legs early.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks are coming off a tough home loss (in a shootout) to the New York Islanders on Tuesday. They are still missing Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, but Jason Dickinson appears good to go.
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Bertuzzi-Greene-Burakovsky
Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Moore-Lardis
Foligno-Dach-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Knight
The line of Oliver Moore, centering Nick Lardis and Teuvo Teravainen, is the one to keep an eye on in this game. They produced a lot of offensive chances for Chicago last game, including their only two goals.
Spencer Knight will get the nod in goal to start for the third game in a row. His last game against the Islanders didn’t have the best start, but overall, it was a nice bounce back from the horrific game against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday.
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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 can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:30 PM CT.
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