The Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Saturday night. Blackhawks fans in Chicago will have to put on a pot of coffee for this late-night matchup.
In recent seasons, the Ducks have been near the bottom of the league but have been better in 2024-25. Anaheim is 7-2-1 in their last ten games, just six points below the playoff line. If the Blackhawks want to end their four-game losing streak, they must bring their best.
Nick Foligno (back) and Philipp Kurashev (hand) missed practice on Friday. Chicago called up Andreas Athanasiou and Wyatt Kaiser from AHL Rockford while sending down Nolan Allan.
Athanasiou is going to play against Anaheim and he’s getting a nice opportunity. He is projected to play on the top line with Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi. Athanasiou isn’t the ideal linemate for Bedard but he’s swift and can make a play here and there.
As for Kaiser, it is unclear if he will play against the Ducks. During Friday's practice, Kaiser, Connor Murphy, and TJ Brodie rotated on the third pair. This is what the rest of the lines and d-pairs looked like:
Andreas Athanasiou - Connor Bedard - Tyler Bertuzzi
Landon Slaggert - Frank Nazar - Colton Dach
Teuvo Teravainen - Ryan Donato - Ilya Mikheyev
Pat Maroon - Lukas Reichel - Craig Smith
Ethan Del Mastro - Seth Jones
Alex Vlasic - Alec Martinez
Wyatt Kaiser - Connor Murphy- TJ Brodie
This lineup has undergone many changes over the last few months, and there isn't much consistency. They must work on getting that squared away this off-season.
The Ducks have many talented players looking to put it all together down the stretch. Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano, and Cutter Gauthier have been playing well lately, so it would be wise to keep an eye on them.
Terry and Vatrano are two veterans who are putting together good seasons in the goal-scoring department and can make plays too.
Gauthier is one of the many young players in the Anaheim organization that they hope can bring them to the promised land. He is part of the future of the Ducks along with Leo Carlsson who was the number two pick behind Bedard in 2023.
At one point, these were two of the four best teams in the Western Conference. Since then, they have both been rebuilding slowly and hope to get back to that level again soon.
This game can be seen locally at 9 PM on CHSN and heard on AM-720. Out-of-market fans can watch it on ESPN+.
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