Blackhawks Vs Golden Knights: Projected Lineup, How To Watch, & More Ahead Of Game 1

The National Hockey League is finally set to kick off day 1 of the 2026-27 season. This will be the league’s 109th season of play and 110th year of operation. There are exciting events on the calendar, like the Heritage Classic, the Winter Classic, an international-themed All-Star Weekend, and Global Series games in Finland and Germany. 

This is also the first year since 1993-94 that they will play an 84-game regular season. For one of their Original Six franchises, the Chicago Blackhawks, the season will start on Tuesday with a road contest against the defending Western Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights. 

Scouting Vegas

The Vegas Golden Knights made a run to the Stanley Cup Final in the spring after changing from head coach Bruce Cassidy to John Tortorella with 8 games remaining in the regular season. They were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes in a great series. It was a tough loss, but their 10th anniversary will see them ferociously trying to defend their Western Conference crown. 

3 trips to the Final in 10 seasons is admirable for Vegas. They expect to be a winning team every single season. They will make harsh decisions in the process if it means making the team more equipped to win, like not returning Tortorella after what he did for them, in favor of new head coach Ryan Craig. 

In game 1 of the new year, this is how you can project Coach Craig to line things up:

Barbashev-Eichel-Stone

Howden-Karlsson-Marner

Connelly-Hertl-Olofsson

Gatcomb-Dowd-Bowman

McNabb-Theodore

Wotherspoon-Andersson

Lauzon-Hanifin

Hart

This is an incredible group that has shown the ability to win when the lights are brightest. Are they as good as they were in the playoffs last year? Only time will tell, but this team is very strong. 

Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, and William Karlsson down the middle are as formidable for three lines as any team in the league. They took a hit when Pavel Dorofeyev left for the New York Rangers, but Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, and Ivan Barbashev are all very good wingers for their centers. 

If Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin are all healthy and at the top of their game, they have an elite right defense. Overall, this helps them be an elite team more than anything. 

For Chicago to beat this group loaded with top players at every position, they need to be equally as hard to play against. That means getting pucks in deep, finishing checks, and being smart with shot selection. Adding the physical players that they did to their bottom six should help them resist this force of a Vegas team. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Blackhawks made some big additions this offseason. Patrick Kane, Cole Smoth, Jordan Greenway, Roman Kantserov, Ian Cole, and Bowen Byram are all new players looking to help get this team back into playoff contention. With the new additions, this is how Jeff Blashill will line them up: 

Moore-Kantserov-Kane

Donato-Nazar-Lardis

Bertuzzi-Frondell-Mangiapane

Smith-Greene-Greenway 

Vlasic-Byram

Kaiser-Levshunov

Cole-Rinzel

Knight

Notably missing is brand-new captain Connor Bedard. He is still working his way back from a shoulder injury sustained earlier in the summer. The timeline had him coming back in November, but his recovery seems to be ahead of schedule. The Hawks will provide updates on that as they become available. 

This lineup is also scheduled to feature Andrew Mangiapane, which forces Teuvo Teravainen out. This is new territory for the long-time NHL veteran, but he will have to earn his way back. For now, it should be looked at as a sign that the team is better.

On defense, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro are the scratches. They both made the team out of camp, somewhat surprisingly, but they are still working their way into dressing for a game. 

Part of the team getting better in 2026-27 will be the development of young players like Anton Frondell, Frank Nazar, Ryan Greene, Oliver Moore, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel. Expect them all to take steps forward in their play throughout the year. 

Spencer Knight is going to start the first game of the season, as expected. Arvid Soderblom will be his backup. 

Patrick Kane

Patrick Kane was one of the “new” players listed. He is not new to the organization at all, however. He is one of the franchise’s most decorated legends. Now, he is hoping to have a great finish to his storied career where it all started. This game against Vegas will mark his first with Chicago since the trade deadline of 2023. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. You can watch the game both locally and nationally on the networks of ESPN as part of their opening night triple-header. The puck will drop shortly after 9:30 PM CT. 

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