NEWSLETTER
The Blackhawks head to Canada for the first time this season, taking on the Winnipeg Jets. Chicago is coming off a 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes on Wednesday night after blowing a 3-1 second period lead. The Blackhawks hold a 1-8-2 record coming into tonight’s contest while the Jets are 5-2-2 and have won five of their last six games and have earned at least a point in their last seven games (5-0-2). Eric Comrie gets the start for the Jets as Connor Hellebuyck is out with a non-COVID illness. Marc-André Fleury gets his eighth start of the season, looking for his second win of his Blackhawks career.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH, ESPN+, TSN3
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (1-8-2)
Kubalík – Dach – Kane
Hagel – Toews – Carpenter
DeBrincat – Kurashev – Hardman
Gaudette – Entwistle – Strome
de Haan – Jones
Murphy – McCabe
Gustafsson – Beaudin
Fleury
Jets (5-2-2)
Connor – Dubois – Svechnikov
Copp – Stastny – Ehlers
Wheeler – Lowry – Scheifele
Harkins – Toninato
Morrissey – Schmidt
Dillon – Pionk
Stanley – Demelo
Beaulieu
Comrie
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Wyatt Kalynuk (Week-to-Week – Ankle)
Caleb Jones (Week-to-Week – Wrist)
Tyler Johnson (COVID-19 Protocol)
Isaak Phillips (COVID-19 Protocol)
Jets:
Connor Hellebuyck (Non-COVID Illness – Day-to-Day)
What To Watch For
• With Riley Stillman and Jujhar Khadra unavailbale to the Blackhawks due to Canadian COVID restrictions, Adam Gaudette, Dylan Strome, and Nicolas Beaudin find a spot in Chicago’s lineup tonight. Beaudin makes his season debut for the Blackhawks while Gaudette and Strome file back in. Strome has been a focal point of the Blackhawks lineup for his inability to get in and stay in the regular forward rotation. Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton has stated that he needs players in the lineup to be willing to check, defend, and grind to help the team win. Not necessarily Strome’s strong points of his game. It will be interesting to see how he performs given the opportunity and if this “will he or won’t he play” saga continues.
• The special teams matchup of the night will favor the Blackhawks with Chicago’s fifth-ranked penalty-killing unit going against the Jets’ third-ranked powerplay unit, while on the flip-side, the Blackhawks will have their 12th-ranked powerplay unit go opposite Winnipeg’s 31st-ranked penalty-kill unit. Chicago leads the NHL creating 3.91 powerplay opportunities per game with the Jets ranking tied for 23rd in the league giving up 3.56 powerplay opportunities per game.
• Patrick Kane has seven points in his last three games, including back-to-back multi-point games. He is one point away from tallying his 1,100th career point.
Get Caught Up
Fleury starting for Blackhawks tonight vs. Jets.
Gaudette and Strome in for Khaira and Reese Johnson. Beaudin in for Stillman.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 5, 2021
Gustafsson: "My puck movements and…moving my feet a little better than I did before. But I still have to show that I can be better in my own zone and stuff like that. I think I’ve been better there, except the last game."
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 5, 2021
Connor Hellebuyck is getting better, but not ready to return tonight.
Eric Comrie starts a second straight game. #NHLJets
— Scott Billeck (@ScottBilleck) November 5, 2021
The last time someone other than Connor Hellebuyck started consecutive games for the #NHLJets during the same week was Laurent Brossoit Oct 4-6, 2019.
— Sara Orlesky (@saraorlesky) November 5, 2021
Fairly optional morning skate, it appears. Likely will be a 11F, 7D configuration once again with Hellebuyck seemingly out and Kristian Vesalainen in the minors.
— Scott Billeck (@ScottBilleck) November 5, 2021
