NEWSLETTER
There’s going to be a lot of focus on Ryan Hartman tonight as he comes back to Chicago to face his first NHL club in the Blackhawks. Now with the Minnesota Wild, his fourth NHL club in his career, Hartman is having his best season of his career, tied for the lead in goals on the team and third in points. He’s also centering the top-line. But don’t get it twisted that the Blackhawks “gave up” on him. This is a rejuvenated Hartman that was never seen in Chicago, or Nashville, or Philadelphia, or in Minnesota prior to this season. He has faced the Blackhawks six times in his career and has yet to score a point. (Yes, I know I just jinxed it.)
Chicago and Minnesota face each other twice this weekend with back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow, with it being a mini home-and-home series starting in Chicago tonight and St. Paul tomorrow. The Blackhawks come into tonight with at least a point in six of their last seven games (4-1-2), while the Wild are 3-1-1 in the month of January.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH, ESPN+ (out-of-market)
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (15-18-6)
Hagel – Strome – Kane
DeBrincat – Toews – Kubalík
Kurashev – Dach – Entwistle
Hardman – Lafferty – Carpenter
McCabe – S. Jones
de Haan – Murphy
Stillman – Gustafsson
Fleury
Wild (22-10-3)
Kaprizov – Hartman – Zuccarello
Greenway – Eriksson Ek – Foligno
Boldy – Gaudreau – Fiala
Dewar – Sturm – Duhaime
Benn – Dumba
Goligoski – Kulikov
Merrill – Addison
Kahkonen
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Tyler Johnson (Three Months – Neck Surgery)
Reese Johnson (IR – Broken Clavicle)
Jujhar Khaira (Day-to-Day – Undisclosed)
Wild:
Jonas Brodin (Day-to-Day – Upper Body)
Nick Bjugstad (Day-to-Day – Upper Body)
Cam Talbot (Day-to-Day – Lower Body)
Jared Spurgeon (Day-to-Day – Lower Body)
What To Watch For
• Although the Blackhawks lost their last game to snap a four-game winning streak, they did earn a point in the shootout loss. That makes a five-game point-streak for Chicago, as well as earning a point in six of their last seven games. During this five-game run, Chicago has not allowed more than two goals in a game. Over the point-streak, Marc-Andre Fleury is 4-0-1 with a .956 save-percentage, a 1.37 GAA and a shutout. He will start again tonight, his eighth-straight start for the Blackhawks.
• Patrick Kane enters tonight with an eight-game point-streak, recording two goals and eight assists over that stretch of time. Also coming into tonight’s game on a hot-streak is Dominik Kubalík, having scored a goal in his last three-straight appearances.
• Ryan Hartman is returning to the lineup for the Wild tonight, playing against the team that drafted him 30th-overall in the 2013 NHL Draft. Hartman spent parts of four seasons from 2014-2018 with the Blackhawks, skating in 141 games and recording 57 points in his Blackhawks career. He is having a career-best year with Minnesota this season, with 16 goals and 30 points in 35 games this season. Hartman’s previous career-best totals came with the Blackhawks in 2016-17 when he scored 19 goals and recorded 31 points.
Get Caught Up
Marc-Andre Fleury in net tonight for the #Blackhawks, his eighth straight start since the holiday break. Kevin Lankinen likely gets the nod tomorrow night in Minnesota, which would be his first game since Dec. 18, the last one before the break.
— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) January 21, 2022
Blackhawks Roster Moves: Chicago Is COVID-Free With Dach and Connolly Out of Protocolshttps://t.co/36QVe4wTn5
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 21, 2022
Chicago native Ryan Hartman, ill yesterday, will play against the Blackhawks tonight. He’s tied for the #mnwild lead with 16 goals.
Jared Spurgeon expected to return vs. Chicago at home tomorrow.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 21, 2022
Former Blackhawks 1st-round pick Ryan Hartman returns to Chicago looking like a new man — and having a career season — with the Minnesota Wild: ‘Things have been good’ https://t.co/8SPo4clJ9D
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) January 21, 2022
Wut: Alex DeBrincat Reportedly NOT One of Blackhawks “Untouchables” This Trade Seasonhttps://t.co/RtBcdqS2cl pic.twitter.com/6DfAkGUo1E
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 21, 2022
