The Chicago Blackhawks are going to take on the Ottawa Senators in game 10 of their 2025-26 season.
The Chicago Blackhawks have their 10th game of the season on Tuesday night. This will be a match against the Ottawa Senators in an inter-conference battle at the United Center.
Chicago is coming off a tough 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. They scored first but were unable to hold the lead. Once the Kings took the lead back, they played a defensive style that the Blackhawks were unable to crack in order to get it tied.
Now, they have a chance to bounce back, which they have been good at in the young season, against the Ottawa Senators, who also have a lot of talent on their squad but play much more open than the Kings.
This game will be a part of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy. All 32 teams will be in action with a different game starting every 15 minutes.
Scouting Ottawa
Ottawa is on the second half of a back-to-back. They defeated the Boston Bruins on Monday night 7-2. The Blackhawks, however, have been unable to take advantage of this situation in previous chances this season.
The Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings came into their matchups with Chicago in similar scenarios and found ways to win after going down early. There will be emphasis on this not happening again for the Blackhawks.
The Senators are without one of their best players, Brady Tkachuk. The feisty winger is going to miss some time with an injury. Without him, this is how they project to line up:
Cousins - Stutzle - Batherson
Greig - Cozens - Perron
Amadio - Pinto - Giroux
MacDermid - Eller - Zetterlund
Sanderson - Zub
Chabot - Jensen
Kleven - Matinpalo
Ullmark
Tim Stutzle is their best player. He is the type of center that plays well in all three zones and carries the load offensively. Nick Cousins and Drake Batherson are expected to be on his wings.
Without Tkachuk, their depth is not the same but they do have good players that can create scoring chances in bunches.
On defense, Jake Sanderson has developed into an elite number one. Artem Zub does a good job of being his partner, and Thomas Chabot leads the way on the second pair.
Behind this solid defense is former Vezina-winning goalie Linus Ullmark. To score on a goalie like this, the Blackhawks need to be smart with their possession and get bodies in front.
Projected Blackhawks Lines, Defense Pairs, and Starting Goalie
The Blackhawks are currently projected to be without Tyler Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev, who are both dealing with upper-body injuries. Bertuzzi was out there for the optional morning skate on Tuesday, but it's not likely he plays. Mikheyev was not out there and is a good bet to miss at least one game after leaving in the third period of Sunday's loss to the Kings.
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Teravainen-Nazar-Donato
Slaggert-Dickinson-Dach
Lafferty-Foligno
Vlasic-Rinzel
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Crevier
Knight
Lukas Reichel is gone, and two forwards are projected to be out with an injury. No call-ups from Rockford have been made, so Jeff Blashill's 11/7 strategy will likely continue in this one. He knows the stress it can cause some of the forwards with the extra ice time, but it is great for the seven defenders dressed.
Ryan Greene, based on the lines from practice, is expected to go on the top line with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. This is a great chance for him to find himself in offensive situations, when he's usually relied on to play a defensive role.
With Lafferty and Foligno, Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar are the top double-shift candidates. For Lafferty, this is going to be his third game of the season, assuming he dresses because Bertuzzi and Mikheyev are unavailable.
After getting Sunday off in favor of Arvid Soderblom, Spencer Knight is the projected starting goalie to face the Senators. Knight has been incredible in every game he's played so far this year, and will look to keep that going against a potentially potent Ottawa team.
UPDATE: Tyler Bertuzzi will play. Chicago will still go 11/7 with Sam Lafferty as the healthy scratch. Bertuzzi will play on the second line with Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teravainen.
Chicago’s New-Look Power Play
Andre Burakovsky and Teuvo Teravainen are switching spots on Chicago's power play units. Details on that can be found here:
Andre Burakovsky Might Be Perfect For Blackhawks Top Power Play
The Chicago Blackhawks have moved Andre Burakovsky to the top power play unit. This might be just what they needed.
How To Watch
Fans in Chicago looking to watch the game can find it on CHSN. It will also be a part of the aforementioned Frozen Frenzy on ESPN2, Disney+, and ESPN+. Puck drop will be just after 7:45 PM CT, with every game starting in 15-minute increments starting at 5 PM CT.
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