The Blackhawks will have at least one player headed to the 2026 Winter Olympics. We already knew Connor Bedard didn’t get an invite (and what Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill thought about that). And, on Friday morning, USA Hockey announced its roster that also does not have a member of the Blackhawks.
HOWEVER, Teuvo Teräväinen will be headed over to represent Finland! Their roster was also announced on Friday morning. Congrats Teuvo!
- After last night’s win, I asked a similar question of two individuals. I asked André Burakovsky why he works so well with Tyler Bertuzzi. And I asked Blashill the same question about the two veteran forwards. To date, the Blackhawks have a 50.95 expected Goals For percentage and 51.72 Scoring Chances For percentage when Burakovsky and Bertuzzi are on the ice together. And they’ve been able to do fairly well whether they have Bedard, another older veteran center or, in last night’s case, Ryan Greene, skating with them.
- The answers from Burakovsky and Blashill were predictably comparable: their skills complement each other well. Both Burakovsky and Blashill talked about how well Bertuzzi protects the puck and how smart he is with it. And Burakovsky said (with a smile) that he likes played with Bertuzzi — and hopes Tyler likes skating with him as well.
- The Blackhawks need more scoring — it’s painfully true. So when I saw Ben Pope wrote a nice reminder of what we’ve been talking about here for some time, I appreciated it. There’s a good chance two top-six forwards with lethal offensive skills join the club next season. And maybe more than that if the 2026 NHL Draft plays out right/well. The help is coming. And I’m not the only one reminding us of that reality.
- I wanted to take a quick moment to shout out Aubrey Meloy and JT Byers. They joined the Blackhawks for the morning skate yesterday thanks to Make-A-Wish. As you likely know, we do a lot to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation here at Bleacher Nation with Brett’s Blogathon every year, and it’s something that I also personally support. It was great to see them having fun. And it was also great to see both Bedard and Frank Nazar around the team to take part in their special day. Here’s to a year of increased strength for both Aubrey and JT!
- The OHL shared its 2025 year in review. It comes as little surprise that Marek Vanacker (the current OHL leader in goals) and Nick Lardis are near the top of their leaderboard for the calendar year. But don’t sleep on Jack Pridham quietly strolling in at fifth on the list. Nice to see three of the top five in the Blackhawks’ pipeline — including Lardis currently being in Chicago with the Blackhawks.
- The Blackhawks won’t practice today (thanks to the win last night) but there are three hockey games for us to watch on Friday. All three Blackhawks prospects will skate in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Championship. I dropped the need-to-know for you earlier this morning.
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- The Cubs were linked to… Bo Bichette… ?
- Patrick put a wrap on a stellar 2025 calendar year for the Bears
- Some new prospects for Bulls fans to watch on college courts this weekend
After a big home win to start the new year against Dallas at the United Center, the Blackhawks start a tough weekend back-to-back in Washington against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. The Caps come in just 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, but they have the best goal differential (plus-15) in the division. Go figure.
We’ll see if the Blackhawks can bring the same formula they employed against the Stars into this game and stay warm in the new calendar year.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Bertuzzi — Ryan Greene — André Burakovsky
Teuvo Teräväinen — Oliver Moore — Nick Lardis
Ryan Donato — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno — Colton Dach — Landon Slaggert
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser — Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
Washington Capitals
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Alex Ovechkin
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Anthony Beauvillier – Nic Dowd – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Ethen Frank
Rasmus Sandin – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar are on IR. Shea Weber (retired) is out long term.
Washington Capitals
- Pierre-Luc Dubois is on IR.
What to Watch For
- Can the Blackhawks carry over their strong play against Dallas to a road test in Washington?
- Secondary scoring is starting to show up for the Blackhawks. Who will find the back of the net tonight?
- Levshunov continues to improve and show more confidence with each game. Skating against Ovechkin could motivate him a little more tonight.
Get Caught Up
I’m not going to assume Anton Frondell scoring just ten seconds into his game at the World Juniors on Saturday served as any motivation for the Blackhawks to get off to a quick start, but Chicago took a lead just 73 seconds into the game tonight. Dylan Strome tied the game for Washington less than four minutes later and the teams took a tie score to the room after 20 minutes.
The Blackhawks got the first power play of the game early in the second period and made it count to take a 2-1 lead. The crossbar got a lot of action in the second period but Washington couldn’t put on into the Chicago net, and the Hawks took their one-goal lead to the third period.
There were some missed calls both ways tonight, some more egregious than others. In the middle of the third period, Ryan Leonard got position in front of the Blackhawks’ net and redirected a shot in to tie the game at two. That’s where the score remained thru the end of regulation, so we once again got five free minutes of hockey.
The Blackhawks got a power play with 54 seconds left in overtime but weren’t able to score; more of a sense of urgency would have been nice. So we got a skills competition to decide this contest. The shootout went six rounds and the Blackhawks emerged victorious!
Star 1: Bertuzzi — Greene — Burakovsky
The top line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Greene and André Burakovsky was really good again tonight. At the end of the second period, 10 of the Blackhawks’ 38 shot attempts came from Greene and Burakovsky (five each). Eight of the Blackhawks’ 17 scoring chances were from Greene and Burakovsky (four each). At 5-on-5, this line was on the ice for a 13-6 shot attempt advantage and 8-4 shot on net advantage by the end of the second period.
When regulation ended, this line had 11 combined shots on net; the Blackhawks had 31 as a team. Bertuzzi and Burakovsky had the assists on the Blackhawks’ go-ahead power play goal in the second period. And Greene was great in the faceoff circle (won 9 of 15 in regulation).
Star 2: Teuvo Teräväinen
Remember when I wrote about how Teräväinen broke a 13-game goalless streak with his goal against the Islanders? And then he scored again against the Stars? Well… now he’s not only going to represent Finland in the Olympics, but Teräväinen has scored in three consecutive games.
Star 3: Ryan Donato
Donato had two points in December (one goal, one assist). He matched that with two assists in the win against Dallas on New Year’s night. Tonight, he scored his tenth goal of the season to get the Blackhawks on the board early in the first period. The Hawks need Donato to find the back of the net; tonight’s marker was just his second since Nov. 28 (16 games).
Key Takeaways
- Tom Wilson had a rough first period. First, an angel got its wings when Louis Crevier caught him awkwardly as they were battling for position in front of the net.
- Then Wilson was on the wrong end of a big reverse hit by Connor Murphy behind the net. He didn’t put much weight on his right leg as he went off the ice and headed straight to the room. Wilson did not return to the game.
- Spencer Knight was really good tonight, stopping 31 of 33 in regulation. The posts behind him deserve an honorable mention as well.
- Greene personally had a strong first period. He was tied for the team lead with two shots on net and won five of six faceoffs. He had two grade-A chances in the first and Natural Stat Trick had him with a team-leading three individual scoring chances in the first period. Greene was on the ice for a team-high 0.94 expected goals for thru two periods and had won 7 of 8 faceoffs.
- Landon Slaggert had a good first period as well. He set up Greene for one of his shots and was credited with two individual scoring chances and one high danger scoring chance in only 3:46 on the ice. He was on the ice for a 0.51 expected goals for and a team-best 97.61 expected goals for percentage in the first period.
- Artyom Levshunov was credited with two blocked shots and two takeaways. He only had one giveaway in regulation; a more efficient night.
- Nothing to see here… definitely not Alex Ovechkin hacking Alex Vlasic in the midsection with the puck nowhere to be found in the third period. No penalty needed to be called here, right? Moments later the Caps got their first period play of the game. Because of course.
The Blackhawks played in Washington on Saturday evening and flew home to face the Vegas Golden Knights. Chicago has been terrible in the second half of back-to-backs this year. They’ll need to change the scripts against a good Vegas team.
But… Vegas comes into this one banged up on the back end and with questions about their goaltending. The Golden Knights have lost three straight and are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. The Blackhawks will have a good shot tonight.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Bertuzzi — Ryan Greene — André Burakovsky
Teuvo Teräväinen — Oliver Moore — Nick Lardis
Ryan Donato — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno — Colton Dach — Landon Slagget
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Matt Grzelcyk — Artyom Levshunov
Wyatt Kaiser — Connor Murphy
Arvid Söderblom
Vegas Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Braeden Bowman
Brett Howden – Mitch Marner – Mark Stone
Reilly Smith – Tomas Hertl – Pavel Dorofeyev
Brandon Saad – Colton Sissons – Keegan Kolesar
Noah Hanifin – Zach Whitecloud
Jeremy Lauzon – Kaedan Korczak
Jaycob Megna – Ben Hutton
Carter Hart
Akira Schmid
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar are on IR. Shea Weber (retired) is out long term.
Vegas Golden Knights
- Adin Hill, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo are on IR.
What to Watch For
- The Blackhawks have been terrible in the second half of back-to-backs this season. Here’s hoping they change that tonight on home ice.
- Hart has not been good in net for Vegas. And Vegas is banged up on the back end. There will be chances.
- Secondary scoring continues to be primary scoring for the Blackhawks without Bedard and Nazar. Who gets the Hawks on the board this evening?
Get Caught Up
On Monday afternoon, the NHL Alumni Association announced Bob Pulford has passed away. Pulford was 89 years old.
Pulford spent more than three decades as part of the Chicago Blackhawks organization. For parts of seven seasons, Pulford served as the head coach of the Blackhawks, most recently for 58 games during the 1999-00 season. He also served as the general manager of the Blackhawks in four separate time periods, most recently from Oct. 24, 2003 to June 21, 2005. He was replaced as GM by Dale Tallon in 2005.
Here is the statement released by the NHL Alumni on social media:
When the Blackhawks take the ice on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues, two of the centers in their lineup will be 22 and 20 years old. Ryan Greene (22) is skating on Chicago’s top line in place of injured star Connor Bedard — who’s 20, by the way — and Oliver Moore (20) is skating on a line with Nick Lardis and Teuvo Teräväinen. Moore is getting some run at center because Frank Nazar — who turns 22 on Jan. 14, by the way — is also out hurt.
So, in review, four skaters who are currently on the Blackhawks roster who are “centers” are (with their ages):
- Connor Bedard — 20
- Oliver Moore — 20
- Frank Nazar — 21
- Ryan Greene — 22
That’s a nice situation for a team that’s working to emerge from the depths of a scorched-earth rebuild project.
Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Greene has spent time both on the wing and at center at the NHL level this season, and he’s been effective in both roles.
Because of that, the question was asked if Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill saw him sticking down the middle when Bedard and Nazar return from their respective injuries. The coach wouldn’t make a firm commitment, saying “we’ll see when Connor gets back what the lines look like, so that’s probably still undetermined.”
Here’s what Blashill said about Greene’s skillset at any spot up front:
The last two sentences of that answer were interesting. When I asked Blashill the next question, my thoughts on the center depth in the organization were stirred more.
Talia Sprague-Imagn Images
I asked Blashill how he thinks Moore has done moving to center from the wing, where he spent the majority of his time since turning pro. His answer was fascinating. Here’s what he said:
Moore has been very good as a center. The sample size still isn’t huge, but it’s growing. And clearly his head coach likes what he’s been seeing. It’s worth noting that, entering Wednesday’s game, Moore has taken 51 faceoffs (25 of which came in the neutral zone) and he has won 51 percent of his draws.
But compare the definitive statement Blashill made about Moore’s game being “exponentially better” better at center than on the wing; he used the phrase “exponentially better” when speaking about both of his (currently healthy) young centers.
Interesting. Very interesting.
IIHF
Blackhawks Future Centers
Since I already threw out the names and young ages of the four skaters on the Blackhawks’ current NHL roster who are “centers” right now, let’s take this conversation a step forward.
When I shared an interview with top Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov earlier this week, he talked about how much his game has exploded since his KHL club moved him to… center. Kantserov doesn’t turn 22 until September.
If you watched the World Junior Championship, you saw the United States using AJ Spellacy primarily as a center. He’s played some wing with Windsor in the OHL this season, but his best hockey has come in the middle. Spellacy will turn 20 at the end of February.
The big news this week in the college ranks is that the top true center prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft, Tynan Lawrence, has joined Boston University for the rest of his pre-draft season. The Terriers’ top line center this season (when he’s been healthy) has been Blackhawks prospect Sacha Boisvert. Boisvert will turn 20 in the middle of March.
By my count, that’s seven capable centers in the Blackhawks organization, the oldest of whom will turn 23 in October (Greene).
But… the Blackhawks’ lines only require four “centers”….
Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Who moves to the wing?
Having multiple players on a line who can take and win faceoffs is advantageous for the Blackhawks. Luke Richardson loved having guys on a line who can come in and win a draw so the guy who starts at the dot can “cheat” a little.
Blashill has also distributed faceoffs to a wide range of skaters this season. Injuries have played a role, but Nick Foligno needs to take one faceoff on Wednesday night to be the sixth Blackhawks skater to take 200 draws this season.
I’ll start this part of our discussion with Anton Frondell, who has also played both center and wing. He was used exclusively as a wing by Sweden at the World Junior Championship. I would imagine the Blackhawks are comfortable with him sticking at the position at which he earned the honor of being named the best forward in a tournament in which he helped his country win gold.
Boisvert has also played the wing some at times in his development thus far. However, it’s easy to like his size down the middle (6-3, 185). The same is true for Spellacy’s size (6-3, 205).
Based on Blashill’s comments on Wednesday morning, Greene may become a Swiss Army knife of sorts for the Blackhawks because of his ability to take draws well and also play effectively on the wing. And, as Blashill has said, Greene can move up and down the lineup with ease as well.
But the Blackhawks probably need another forward to eventually move to the wing, especially assuming Kantserov signs to come to the NHL at the end of his KHL season and the Blackhawks like how he’s played down the middle against older competition in the top league in Russia.
Which brings me to an intriguing possibility for Nazar.
Nazar really made a name for himself on a larger stage when he led the USA in scoring en route to a gold medal at the World Championship following last season. His offense really took off when he was moved to the wing at that tournament.
One of the assistant coaches of that team who watched Nazar’s performance on the wing: Mike Vellucci — who is now on Blashill’s staff in Chicago.
It’s possible that, in a couple years, the Blackhawks’ four centers are Bedard, Kantserov, Moore and Spellacy. If they somehow get a chance to add Lawrence to that mix at the 2026 NHL Draft, that could very, very easily change the calculus with the Hawks’ roster construction as well.
At the end of the day, as Blashill said on Wednesday morning, “Hopefully you have too many centers. That’s a good problem.” And that could be the reality for the Blackhawks soon.
On Thursday night, Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane reached a historic milestone. With an empty net goal in the third period of a 5-1 Red Wings win, Kane became the fifth American-born player to score 500 regular-season goals in NHL history.
For those scoring at home, Andrew Copp had the only assist on Kane’s 500th goal.
Kane scored 446 goals with the Blackhawks before he was traded to the Rangers. He scored five in 19 games with the Rangers before signing with the Red Wings as a free agent.
Congrats to one of the greatest Blackhawks of all-time!
showtime gets his 500th
congratulations @88PKane https://t.co/fLLaLbfrev
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 9, 2026
There’s a flu bug ripping thru the Blackhawks room right now. Nick Foligno, Ilya Mikheyev and Arvid Söderblom were not at the morning skate on Friday before the Hawks host the Washington Capitals.
So, after watching Blackhawks legend Scott Foster take reps at the morning skate, it makes sense that the Blackhawks would need a viable backup if Söderblom can’t go; the Blackhawks have a back-to-back with a trip to Nashville after the game tonight. They then play again on Monday night.
With that in mind, the Blackhawks calling up goalie Drew Commesso from Rockford felt like a logical — and necessary — move. That has happened.
Of course there will be fans that point out the irony that the Blackhawks traded Laurent Brossoit on Thursday only to need a backup on Friday. You don’t plan trades around a flu bug. Rockford will be okay.
However, Commesso wasn’t the only person brought up from Rockford on Friday afternoon.
everyone say hi to Kevin and Drew!
➡︎ https://t.co/1frK18VDE1 pic.twitter.com/StfrFQipaz
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 9, 2026
Commesso will be sharing a cab to Chicago with defenseman Kevin Korchinski.
The Blackhawks activated Connor Bedard off IR, which gives them 12 healthy forwards (14 total) if Foligno and Mikheyev can’t go. The Blackhawks had six defensemen on the NHL roster after sending Ethan Del Mastro to Rockford earlier this week.
We’ll see if Korchinski draws into the lineup at some point this weekend.
