It is preseason game number five and preseason home game number two for the Chicago Blackhawks. This time, they will play host to the Minnesota Wild.
When these two met in St. Paul last week, the Hawks defeated the Wild by a score of 4-1. In that match, the Wild only had a handful of their top players in the lineup while the Blackhawks dressed a fair number of their NHL regulars.
This is Minnesota’s last dress rehearsal before the 2025-26 season begins. For Chicago, this is their second-to-last exhibition game as they play the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed that an NHL group would go against the Wild on Friday, while the Blues will be facing an AHL-caliber team a day later.
The roster for preseason game 5 looks like this:
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on X
second to last preseason game🏒
🆚 @mnwild
⏰ 7:00PM CT
📺@CHSN__
https://t.co/3io3UBwW49
Notably, Ethan Del Mastro is not playing in this one. He was paired with Louis Crevier in practice, and it seems like he might be one of the odd men out when it comes to making the team.
Alex Vlasic was cut by a skate last weekend and remains out. The Blackhawks remain optimistic that he will play against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. If Del Mastro goes to the AHL and Crevier remains on the team as the seventh defenseman to keep him off waivers, that leaves Nolan Allan and Matt Grzelcyk for the final spot on the blue line. The opportunity to earn it is there.
The practice forward line of Lucas Reichel, with Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene, is also not participating in this game. It is unclear who will be the extra forward to make the team, but there is still Saturday's game to play as well. One may be the 13th forward out of camp, and the others could be off to the AHL.
Projected Lines
Donato-Bedard-Burakovsky
Teravainen-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Slaggert-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Dach-Foligno-Lafferty
Grzelcyk-Rinzel
Kaiser-Levshunov
Allan-Murphy
Knight
Soderblom
How To Watch
Those looking for the game in the Chicago area can find it on CHSN. Out-of-market viewings can be found on ESPN+. The puck will drop at the United Center at 7:00 PM CT.
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