After an incredible, emotional opening ceremony that celebrated the old Chicago Stadium, the Blackhawks proceeded to give up the first goal of the game — to Alex DeBrincat, after only 55 seconds of game time. Because the Blackhawks were celebrating their past, Patrick Kane scored the second goal of the game. Why not, right? It was a good first period for the former Blackhawks, not so much for the present.
This was a flat offensive performance in which the Blackhawks really needed their goaltender to make a few saves and keep them in it until they woke up. Unfortunately, Arvid Söderblom wasn’t sharp right out of the gate and the Blackhawks were chasing early.
Detroit got the first goal in the second period, this time opting to not have a former Blackhawk score. Which was a nice change of pace, but the Blackhawks were now chasing three. DeBrincat closed the books with an empty net goal in the third.
Star 1: Wayne Messmer
With the Blackhawks celebrating the Chicago Stadium tonight, having Messmer in the 300 level standing next to the old organ to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” like back in the day was remarkable. I didn’t think we would ever see him back in this arena. Lots of feels before the game began.
I’m 45 & grew up going to the old barn
And now I’m a mess
This was incredible. Well done, #Blackhawks
Well done indeedpic.twitter.com/R6S9VnrNQd
— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) December 14, 2025Star 2: Nick Lardis
In his first period in the NHL, Lardis skated 4:01 and was credited with one hit and had one shot miss the mark. His line with Oliver Moore and one of Ryan Greene or Frank Nazar was decent. He got to slide into Connor Bedard‘s spot on the top power play unit immediately. At the end of two periods, Lardis was tied for the Blackhawks’ team lead with four hits. He looked like an NHL player in the midst of an underwhelming team performance. He led the Blackhawks with eight shot attempts by the end of the night.
Star 3: Colton Dach
Dach was buzzing all night. At the end of the second period, he led the Blackhawks with six shot attempts (three on net), two high danger chances and four hits in 8:52 on the ice. Unlike many of his teammates, Dach was noticeable on most of his shifts.
Key Takeaways
- The Blackhawks actually had a 20-11 shot attempt advantage at 5-on-5 and matched the Red Wings’ four high dangers chances in the first period. Chicago’s speed had a few chances to make something happen, but the Hawks didn’t finish when they got there.
- The Blackhawks won 19 of 32 faceoffs (59 percent) thru two periods. Nazar won 6 of 9 and Greene won 5 of 7 in the first two periosd.
- Without Bedard, the power play looked lost.
Let’s start with where the game began last night. I made Wayne Messmer my No. 1 star in my postgame thoughts last night because the Blackhawks weren’t great (got shutout). But that was truly a great moment. The Blackhawks are really doing a great job with their Centennial celebration, but not everything you would love to see celebrated can be possible. One of the things I didn’t think was possible was Messmer coming back to a Blackhawks game to sing the anthem. Last night, he did — right next to the old organ in the balcony like it was back in the day.
please help us welcome back, for one night only, Harvey Wittenberg, Wayne Messmer and Frank Pellico for the National Anthem
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 14, 2025
Even Patrick Kane was impressed by the anthem last night. He talked about it after the game (video courtesy Charlie Roumeliotis)
- Nick Lardis made his NHL debut last night. He got things started with a bucketless rookie lap. Once the game began, Lardis looked increasingly comfortable out there. He admitted after the game that early on he was a little starstruck with Kane and Alex DeBrincat on the other side. Lardis tried to generate offense but, like his teammates, wasn’t able to finish. I liked what I saw, and head coach Jeff Blashill liked his game as well.
- Well, this is kinda crazy. Last year, when the Blackhawks recalled Frank Nazar, he had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 21 games with the IceHogs. He got the call on December 13. This year, Nick Lardis comes up on… December 13. And Lardis has 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 24 games with Rockford.
- During the Saturday headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada last night, Elliotte Friedman reported Connor Bedard had an MRI on his shoulder on Saturday and will not travel with the Blackhawks to start their upcoming Canadian road trip. After the game last night, Blashill confirmed he does not anticipate Bedard being on the upcoming trip with the team. We should get a more formal update on Monday.
- Terrific read from Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff on Marek Vanacker‘s late invite to Hockey Canada’s camp to set their World Juniors roster. Vanacker skated on the left side of Canada’s fourth line at practice on Saturday (per Scott Wheeler).
- The Vancouver Canucks put Lukas Reichel on waivers yesterday. Please, for the love of everything sacred, please do not ask if the Blackhawks should put in a claim. The Blackhawks tried to trade Reichel for almost two years. They sent him to Vancouver for almost nothing — and the Canucks overpaid. We’ve seen Reichel. We know him. Thinking about this should last about as long as a fart in a hurricane.
- Let’s stick with the Canucks for a moment, however. Pierre LeBrun at The Athletic got all of the good inside dirt on how the Quinn Hughes trade went down. He reports the teams that were apparently involved in the bidding were the Devils, Red Wings, Rangers, and “to some degree,” Carolina and Buffalo. Terrific reporting here. LeBrun also reports the “Flyers were among the teams that kicked tires but didn’t get to the next level.”
How about some Blackhawks prospect highlights?
- In the college ranks, Sacha Boisvert scored this goal for Boston University on an emotional night for the Terriers. They closed Matthews Arena for good last night.
- In the WHL, Kamloops lost 4-1 but Nathan Behm had an assist on their one goal.
- In the OHL last night, Parker Holmes had one assist but Peterborough beat Brantford 5-3.
- Jack Pridham got Kitchener on the board early. Almost ten minutes later, Pridham scored his second of the night. He scored his third of the night on the power play for the first hat trick of his OHL career. Kitchener won the game 5-4 in a shootout. Here are his three goals (in order).
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- The Brewers made an interested trade on Saturday.
- The Bears are optimistic Rome Odunze will play today.
The Blackhawks hit the road to swing thru some big Canadian markets and they start in Toronto without Connor Bedard. Obviously that isn’t ideal.
But the Leafs are seventh in the Atlantic Division and have 33 points in 31 games; the Blackhawks have 32 points in 32 games. Toronto is allowing the second-most shots on net per game (31.5) in the NHL (the Hawks are fifth-worst at 30.3). The Leafs’ power play ranks 30th in the league. This is not a dominant Toronto team to fear going in.
Note: it looks like Artyom Levshunov is getting the night off after arriving late and having a rough practice on Monday.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frank Nazar — André Burakovsky
Nick Lardis — Ryan Greene — Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teräväinen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Dominic Toninato — Ryan Donato
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser — Matt Grzelcyk
Ethan Del Mastro — Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Nick Robertson – John Tavares – Bobby McMann
Dakota Joshua – Nicolas Roy – Max Domi
Steven Lorentz – Scott Laughton – Easton Cowan
Morgan Reilly – Simon Benoit
Jake McCabe – Troy Stecher
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Henry Thrun
Joseph Woll
Dennis Hildeby
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Bedard and Nick Foligno are on IR. Shea Weber (retired) are out long term.
Toronto Maple Leafs
- Chris Tanev, Anthony Stolarz, Brandon Carlo and Dakota Mermis are on IR.
What to Watch For
- The Blackhawks will play their second game without Bedard. The Leafs can score, but the Blackhawks’ team speed could present headaches for Toronto. They need to finish.
- With the offense finding ways to score without Bedard, the Blackhawks will likely need Knight to be on his game to keep them in it.
- The Leafs will get Woll back between the pipes after he missed four games because of an injury.
Get Caught Up
Fans who have watched Connor Bedard thus far this season have seen him take a big jump in almost every aspect of his game. He has become the superstar the Blackhawks selected first overall, and is jump-starting the talk about his “generational talent” that we read so much about before he was drafted.
Bedard has also gone from “a guy Canada might think about but it’s a long shot” to “a guy who should be on the Olympic roster” in a few short months of dominant hockey.
With Bedard on the sidelines because of injury for the next couple weeks, the Blackhawks are going to have to figure out how to generate offense without him. There have been a few posts about just how good Bedard has been to start the season in the last couple days that are worth some your time and consideration.
Bedard’s outstanding start
First off, a really good deep dive piece from Paul Pidutti (aka AdjustedHockey) at Daily Faceoff about the remarkable seasons being produced by four emerging NHL stars. “Using era adjusted stats to level the intergenerational playing field, we’re exploring the feats of four phenoms: Matthew Schaefer (18 years old); Macklin Celebrini (19); Connor Bedard (20); and Leo Carlsson (21 next week). The future has arrived.”
Here’s part of what Pidutti wrote about Bedard’s season to date:
The fine folks at JFresh shared this Bedard graphic on Wednesday morning on Twitter.
Bedard’s Olympic chances
Bedard’s injury may have caused some pause from a few folks out there regarding his shot at making Canada’s roster for the Olympics, especially because the roster will be announced on New Year’s Eve — before he’s expected to return to the Blackhawks’ lineup.
But, if he’s healthy by February, why wouldn’t Bedard be on the roster?
Before he got hurt, TSN’s Craig Button and Mike Johnson put together their updated consensus roster for Canada at the Olympics. They have Bedard playing the right wing on Canada’s top line with Sidney Crosby on the left side and Nathan MacKinnon between them. Oh my! Here’s their roster breakdown:
Matt Larkin at Daily Faceoff updated his roster projections for Canada on Tuesday. He does not have Bedard on the roster, but says he would be the toughest cut.
The fabulous Dom Luszczyszyn updated his projections for Canada’s roster at the upcoming Winter Olympics at The Athletic on Wednesday morning. He has Bedard on a second line that I consider… well, dead sexy. Two Connors and a Macklin? Hoo boy!
Source: The Athletic
Here’s part of what he wrote about Canada considering both Bedard and Macklin Celebrini for the roster:
We’re going to have to wait until Dec. 31 to find out the final selections for Canada. Certainly, the remarkable start to the season has put Bedard not only in the conversation for the Olympics, but back into some elite, historic company for players at his current age.
The loss in Toronto last night sucks. There’s really no other way to put it, even after sleeping on it. It’s a hard one to take because, as Jason Dickinson said after the game, it seemed like the Blackhawks played about 50 minutes of ideal hockey. They were structured. Their speed was giving the Leafs problems. They were creating — and taking advantage of — opportunities while limited the Leafs’ chances.
And then the final four minutes happened.
The way the game ended last night is an example of want vs. need. The Blackhawks wanted to win. The Maple Leafs needed to win.
If you read anything out of Canadian media in the couple days before the game, there was everything from “there needs to be a big shake-up” to “is Berube’s job on the line?” The Leafs got booed off the ice at the end of the first period. It was louder after 40 minutes. And it was noticeably increasing before the media stoppage that came just before the Leafs scored their first goal.
The Maple Leafs have big expectations on them to win, and they’ve been bad.
The Blackhawks have hopes of showing significant improvement from last year. And they’ve been… okay for the most part.
One team wanted to win. The other needed to win. And, as is often the case, need defeated want.
- A seemingly crazy note from last night: Alex Vlasic was called for a (soft) penalty late in the second period. That was the first minor penalty called on Vlasic this season. Last night was his 32nd appearance.
- Laurent Brossoit cleared waivers on Tuesday. He’ll head back to Rockford and get some more run; the Hawks assigned him to the IceHogs on Tuesday. I’m sure the Blackhawks will continue to shop him, and can now see if their options improve with salary retention. During the pregame show last night, Frank Seravalli said the Hawks “didn’t really receive much of any activity at all” in looking for a Brossoit trade before now. Again: he’s appeared in 3 AHL games in almost two years. At $3.3M, everyone needs to see more.
- The Blackhawks are expected to practice in Montreal this afternoon. We’ll see how things shake out with Artyom Levshunov hoping to get back into the lineup after he was a healthy scratch last night.
- The NHL writers at The Athletic put together a list of the fastest rising prospects in every organization thus far this season. Scott Powers took care of the Blackhawks’ pipeline, and he named forward Roman Kantserov. Here’s what he wrote:
- For those starting to look ahead at the 2026 NHL Draft — especially with the Blackhawks owning two first-round picks and three more in the second — here’s a good read on the recent World Junior A Challenge from David St-Louis at Elite Prospects.
- The Rockford IceHogs will hold their annual outdoor practice on Tuesday, Jan. 6 from 6-7 p.m. at Riverside Ice Arena in Belvidere. The practice session is open to the public and free to attend.
Bundle up, #HogNation
Our annual outdoor practice returns on January 6th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm. This event is open to the public!!
: https://t.co/Uy3ecx56JJ pic.twitter.com/ACFS679MvR
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 15, 2025
- The St. Louis Blues claimed Jonatan Berggren off waivers from Detroit.
- Last night we witnessed an awkward moment where the Penguins goalie was wearing an Oilers mask and the Oilers goalie was wearing a Penguins mask… because they were traded for each other last weeek.
- Finally, the Nashville Predators added a couple minority owners on Tuesday — including Nick Saban!
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- So, so much to love about the second Caleb Williams touchdown throw to DJ Moore
- The Cubs are bringing back Caleb Thielbar
- Not exactly an ideal injury update from Ayo Dosunmu on Tuesday
After the morning skate, Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed that rookie defenseman Artyom Levshunov will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday night in Toronto.
Levshunov was late getting to the rink for practice on Monday, so it was disciplinary — not based on his play. This is another reminder that this season is about setting standards for everyone involved. I like the move by head coach Jeff Blashill.
It helps that the Blackhawks called up a seventh defenseman before the issue arose, too. Ethan Del Mastro will draw into the lineup for Levshunov and the Blackhawks will skate 12 forwards.
Matt Grzelcyk was running the top power play at the morning skate and Wyatt Kaiser was running the second unit for the Blackhawks with Levshunov getting a night off.
After a massively disappointing loss in Toronto, the Blackhawks will look to bounce back in Montreal against a Canadiens team that’s hanging around the edges of the playoff picture. The Habs are banged up right now, and haven’t been great defensively. The Blackhawks are still without their most important offensive player.
If the Blackhawks can play a full 60 minutes the way they played the first 55 in Toronto, they can skate out of Montreal with a win. Let’s see if they can put together a complete effort tonight. I haven’t seen lines from the morning skate, but with Artyom Levshunov back in the lineup I’m assuming the Hawks go back to 11-7. We’ll see if that’s the case during warm-ups.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frank Nazar — André Burakovsky
Nick Lardis — Ryan Greene — Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teräväinen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Ryan Donato
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser — Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Murphy
Ethan Del Mastro
Spencer Knight
Montreal Canadiens
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Zack Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson
Owen Beck – Joe Veleno – Brendan Gallagher
Jayden Struble – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson – Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – Adam Engstrom
Jakub Dobes
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Connor Bedard and Nick Foligno are on IR. Shea Weber (retired) is out long term.
Montreal Canadiens
- Sam Montembeault, David Reinbacher and Mike Matheson are out. Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Patrik Laine and Kaiden Guhle are on IR.
What to Watch For
- The Blackhawks need goals. Bedard is still out. Who steps up?
- Levshunov will draw back in tonight. He was a healthy scratch for the home opener, so this will be the first time he plays head-to-head against Demidov. And Levshunov is coming off a disciplinary scratch in Toronto. He’s got something to prove, and will be back on the power play tonight.
- The Habs have been disappointingly mediocre on home ice this year (8-9-1). And they’re allowing the most goals per game in the NHL (3.48 – tied with Nashville for last in the league). There will be opportunities for the Blackhawks to score.
Get Caught Up
On Thursday morning, Hockey Canada announced three players were sent back to their junior clubs. Included: Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker.
ROSTER UPDATE |’s National Junior Team has returned the following players to their club teams.
MISE À JOUR | L’équipe nationale junior du
-Jake O'Brien
-Jackson Smith
-Marek Vanacker#WorldJuniors | #MondialJunior
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 18, 2025
This is disappointing, but not a shock. Vanacker was a late invite to Canada’s pre-tournament camp for evaluation and didn’t blow anyone away in their first practice game.
Vanacker and Jake O’Brien will both head back to Brantford to continue their successful seasons in the OHL. Vanacker still leads the OHL with 26 goals — four more than any other player.
On Friday morning, the Blackhawks announced some details of the next on-ice celebration of their Centennial season.
On Friday, Jan. 17 with the Boston Bruins are in town, the first 8,000 fans to enter the United Center will receive an exclusive Duncan Keith bobblehead giveaway. The pregame ceremony will focus on “The Banner Years” — celebrating the six Stanley Cup championships in franchise history.
In addition to the Keith bobbleheads, the Blackhawks announced 25 players from the dynasty teams of the 2010s will be in attendance. And there are some fan favorites included. Here’s the full list (subject to change):
Unfortunately, the two faces of the franchise on those rosters — captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane — are still active. Toews’ return to Chicago as a visitor for the first time will take place two days later when the Jets land at the United Center.
The Blackhawks have now played (and lost) three games without Connor Bedard in the lineup. In those three games, the Blackhawks have been outscored 11-3. And they’re averaging only 22 shots on goal per game.
Obviously losing Bedard takes their most important, productive player out of the lineup. But the Blackhawks have been searching for combinations on lines without Bedard to consistently create offense for longer than he’s been out.
The Blackhawks were able to do some good things early in the season, but opponents have made adjustments. Now, it’s time for the Blackhawks to adjust to those changes. Bedard being out of the lineup gives the Blackhawks more of an opportunity to experiment with some lineups to see where there might be chemistry that works.
Here are three changes I would make before the Blackhawks take the ice in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon and a proposed lineup to see if they can at minimum see more shots on net, if not more shots going in.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Put Nazar and Teräväinen back together
This one feels pretty simple for me. When Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teräväinen have been on the ice together, they’re both better. Natural Stat Trick tell us (at 5-0n-5) the Blackhawks have out-scored their opponents 12-10 when Nazar and Teräväinen are on the ice together. Nazar without Teräväinen: 4 Blackhawks goals to 10 for the opposition. Teräväinen without Nazar: 1 Blackhawks goal to 7 for the wrong side.
In 243:43 together at even strength this season, the Blackhawks have a 9.47 expected goals for with these two on the ice together.
If we add Tyler Bertuzzi to that mix — a trio that’s been on the ice for 127:24 together at 5-on-5 — the Blackhawks have a 51.45 Corsi For percentage and have out-scored opponents 7-4.
Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Try Donato with Burakovsky more
Ryan Donato and André Burakovsky have only spent 29:49 together thus far at 5-on-5. But they have a 53.03 Corsi For percentage when they’re on the ice together in that time; they’re both at 48 percent when they’re separated.
Donato is a trigger man; Burakovsky carries the puck and enters the zone well. The Blackhawks have also generated 18 scoring chances and six high danger chances in that limited amount of ice time. Give it a look.
If we add Ryan Greene to this line, it would give us a larger sample size to digest with Burakovsky. I will note that the majority of the time those two have been on the ice together has been with Bedard; they’ve only spent 20:58 together without Bedard. But they do have a decent overall sample size (189:36 total 5-on-5 ice time together).
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Limit Lardis — somewhat
Nick Lardis has the ability to generate offense, we saw that in his first NHL game. And I can appreciate the coaches putting him on a line with Greene and Oliver Moore because of their familiarity with each other. Moore and Lardis spent time together in Rockford and both performed well. But we now have a three-game sample size in the NHL, and breaking them up might make more sense.
When Moore has been on the ice in the NHL at 5-on-5 without Lardis, the Blackhawks have a 48.56 Corsi For percentage. When Moore and Lardis are on the ice together (27:22 at 5-on-5), the Blackhawks have a 38.30 Corsi For percentage. The Blackhawks have 42 high danger chances and have been out-scored 13-11 when Moore is on the ice without Lardis at 5-on-5. The Blackhawks have an expected Goals For percentage of 53.24 with Moore on the ice at 5-on-5 without Lardis.
If the Blackhwaks put Moore’s speed on a line with Ilya Mikheyev, that could be scary for opponents.
This isn’t a knock on Lardis, but he’s the newest guy to come up. The Blackhawks have effectively sheltered Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel in their roles in the NHL this season. Why not employ a similar strategy with Lardis?
Potential Lineup with Tweaks
Teuvo Teräväinen — Frank Nazar — Tyler Bertuzzi
Ryan Donato — Ryan Greene — André Burakovsky
Oliver Moore — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Sam Lafferty/Nick Foligno — Nick Lardis
