NEWSLETTER
Settle into the couch after a morning of Black Friday shopping and make yourself a leftover turkey sandwich to watch the Blackhawks and Blues square-off today in a matinée game at the United Center. Chicago is 5-2-0 in seven games since interim head coach Derek King took over, but are scoring just 2.11 goals per game in that time. The Blues rank eighth in goals per game this season with 3.26 and tenth in goals against per game, allowing just 2.74. This is the second meeting between the two clubs this season after the Blues won a 1-0 game in St. Louis on October 30th. The Blues have won five straight games against Chicago – the longest winning streak against the Blackhawks in team history – and have recorded shutouts in two straight games at the United Center.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 2:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+/Hulu (ONLY)
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (6-11-2)
Hagel – Toews – Kane
DeBrincat – Dach – Kubalík
Kurashev – Borgström- Carpenter
R. Johnson – Strome – Khaira
de Haan – S. Jones
McCabe – Murphy
Kalynuk – Gustafsson
Lankinen
Blues (10-7-2)
Barbashev – O’Reilly – Perron
Saad – Schenn – Kyrou
Buchnevich – Thomas – Tarasenko
Kostin – Bozak – Sundqvist
Scandella – Parayko
Krug – Faulk
Mikkola – Perunovich
Binnington
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
MacKenzie Entwistle (Week-to-Week – Ankle)
Tyler Johnson (Day-to-Day – Neck)
Riley Stillman (Day-to-Day – Lower Body)
Blues:
James Neal (Day-to-Day – Undisclosed)
Robert Bortuzzo (Day-to-Day – Undisclosed)
What To Watch For
• Driving the offense all season for Chicago, Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane have been held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games, with Kane not registering a point in three-straight contests. Kane leads the Blackhawks with 17 points in 15 games this season and ranks in a tie for second on the team in goals with six. DeBrincat leads the Blackhawks with 11 goals in 19 games this season and also ranks third on the team with 14 points. DeBrincat has 11 points in 14 career games against St. Louis, while Kane has points in eight of his last ten games against the Blues.
• Kevin Lankinen gets the start for the Blackhawks today. He is 1-3-2 this season with a .884 save-percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Lankinen has allowed three or more goals in five of his six starts this season, allowing just one goal in his only win of the season on November 7 against the Nashville Predators.
• The Blackhawks have not scored a powerplay goal in their last eight opportunities and have just one goal in their last 18 chances on the man-advantage. In their first 12 games of the season, Chicago ranked 13th in the NHL on the powerplay with a 22.2% success-rate. Since Derek King took over on November 7, the Blackhawks rank 29th in the league.
Get Caught Up
Kevin Lankinen will start today vs. St. Louis.
Philipp Kurashev back in for Mike Hardman and Wyatt Kalynuk likely in for Caleb Jones. #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 26, 2021
King on Kubalik's scoring drought: "He's more sitting back, playing more of a defensive role than I'd like him to. I'd like to see him be a little more aggressive offensively."
— Joe Brand (@Joe_Brand1) November 25, 2021
Kalynuk on his ankle injury: “I've been pretty lucky throughout my career I haven't really had to deal with injuries. The last 5 or 6 years I've been healthy. It sucked it was new for me and definitely wasn't easy. But I'm happy to be where I am now.”
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 25, 2021
The Blackhawks enter tonight with a 5-game losing streak against the Blues. They haven't beaten them since April 2019.
They're also stuck in a 131:44 goal drought against the Blues, and the guy who scored their last goal before that drought (Saad) now plays FOR the Blues.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 26, 2021
