The Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens face off tonight at the Bell Centre at 7:00 PM ET. Here's a look at the projected lineups for both teams.
Chicago Blackhawks (13-14-6)
The Blackhawks enter tonight's game after a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. They have struggled recently, losing five of their last six games. Chicago will be without key players, including Connor Bedard (upper body) and captain Nick Foligno (hand).
Here's the projected lineup:
- Forwards: Tyler Bertuzzi - Frank Nazar - Andre Burakovsky / Oliver Moore - Ryan Greene - Nick Lardis / Teuvo Teravainen - Jason Dickinson - Ilya Mikheyev / Colton Dach - Dominic Toninato - Ryan Donato
- Defense: Alex Vlasic - Louis Crevier / Matt Grzelcyk - Artyom Levshunov / Wyatt Kaiser - Connor Murphy
- Goalies: Spencer Knight (starting), Arvid Soderblom
Artyom Levshunov returns to the lineup after being scratched for being late to practice. Coach Jeff Blashill had said that Foligno is "itching to get back in" but will not play until he is fully ready.
Montreal Canadiens (17-12-4)
The Canadiens are also coming off a loss, a 4-1 defeat against the Philadelphia Flyers. Montreal has been struggling defensively and is currently just outside the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens have several injured players, including Mike Matheson (upper body), Kirby Dach (broken foot), Alex Newhook (broken ankle), Kaiden Guhle (lower body), and Patrik Laine (lower body). Mike Matheson will miss his second straight game and is day to day.
Here's the projected lineup:
- Forwards: Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Zack Bolduc / Juraj Slafkovsky - Oliver Kapanen - Ivan Demidov / Alexandre Texier - Owen Beck - Josh Anderson / Joe Veleno - Jake Evans - Brendan Gallagher
- Defense: Lane Hutson - Alexandre Carrier / Jayden Struble - Noah Dobson / Arber Xhekaj - Adam Engstrom
- Goalies: Jakub Dobes (starting), Jacob Fowler
Jakub Dobes will start in goal for the Canadiens after a strong performance in his previous start against the Edmonton Oilers. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in that game.
Keys to the Game
The Blackhawks will need to find a way to generate offense without Connor Bedard, who is out with an upper-body injury. Chicago's penalty kill has been a bright spot, ranking 4th in the NHL. For the Canadiens, goaltending has been an issue this season, so a strong performance from Jakub Dobes could be key to victory. The Canadiens will also need to improve defensively.
