The Chicago Blackhawks have a road tilt with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night for game number 11.
The Chicago Blackhawks are 5-3-2 after their first ten games of the season. They earned a massive 7-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday to get to this point. Now, they are set to take on the Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba on Thursday night.
The Jets come into this match 7-3-0 with the thought that they can be one of the powers in the Western Conference again this year.
Six Game Road Trip
Chicago's matchup against the Winnipeg Jets will be the first of six on the road. They will follow it up with games against the Edmonton Oilers, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Detroit Red Wings.
Earning a big win over the Senators to propel them into this trip with confidence should go a long way. They believe that they can beat anybody at any time, and the right players are leading the way.
A Long 6-Game Road Trip Awaits Blackhawks Following Impressive Home Win
The Chicago Blackhawks had an impressive home victory on Tuesday night. Now, a 6-game road trip awaits them.
Jonathan Toews
For the first time in his career, former Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is set to play against the team that drafted him third overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. With Chicago, the man known as "Captain Serious" became a Blackhawks legend.
Jonathan Toews Set To Face Blackhawks For First Time In His NHL Career
For the first time in his NHL career, former Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is going to face his old team.
Scouting Winnipeg
The Winnipeg Jets were one of the best teams in the NHL last season and it looks like they are down that road again here in 2025-26. Jonathan Toews is one of the leaders on the team, but he doesn't have to be one of the main producers at this stage of his career. Around him, the Jets have a wonderful core that will line up like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Namestnikov-Toews-Iafallo
Niederreiter-Barron-Nyquist
Koepke-Ford-Pearson
Morrissey-DeMelo
Stanley-Pionk
Fleury-Schenn
Hellebuyck
Winnipeg's top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabe Vilardi is as good as it gets in the NHL. They are a high-octane line that is a threat to score on every shift they take.
Toews has had a few different linemates so far this season, but he is projected to play with Vladislav Namestnikov and Alex Iafallo in this one against the Blackhawks.
Josh Morrissey is the number one defenseman on a team loaded with good players on the back end. The Blackhawks forwards will have to forecheck hard to create offense against this group.
Connor Hellebuyck is going to start in goal for Winnipeg. As if their defense didn't make scoring hard enough, Hellebuyck is there to make it even worse for their opponents. He has won the Vezina Trophy in each of the last two years to make it three total. He also won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2024-25, which is incredibly difficult for a goalie to do.
Projected Blackhawks Lines, Defense Pairs, and Starting Goalie
The Blackhawks will look to beat Hellebuyck and the Jets with a roster that comes in with tremendous confidence:
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Teravainen-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Dach-Foligno
Vlasic-Rinzel
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Crevier
Knight
Every game is a wonder of whether or not it will be the contest that Jeff Blashill goes back to the traditional 12 forwards and 6 defensemen. If he does, one of Landon Slaggert or Sam Lafferty will be on the fourth line with Colton Dach and Nick Foligno.
Ilya Mikheyev is rejoining the group and is going to play with Ryan Donato and Jason Dickinson on the third line. His contributions in all three zones improve the overall makeup of the team.
Ryan Greene is sticking with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky on the top line. With Bedard getting a hat trick last game, why change anything?
The seven defensemen who are projected to dress have played better and better with each passing game. Blashill believes strongly that going with seven helps them all, despite it coming at the expense of the forward group.
Spencer Knight will be the starter for Chicago against the Jets. He wasn't as dominant as he'd like to be against the Senators, but he still was strong enough to win by multiple goals. This will be his second straight game facing a former Vezina winner.
UPDATE: Ilya Mikheyev will not play. Landon Slaggert will draw into the lineup instead, playing with Nick Foligno and a double shifted forward (11/7) on the fourth line.
How To Watch
Those looking to watch the game in the market can do so on CHSN. Out-of-market fans can find it on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7 PM CT.
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