The Chicago Blackhawks are going to take on the Edmonton Oilers in Game 75 of their season.
The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated in overtime on Tuesday night at the United Center by the Winnipeg Jets. In their one home game that split two separate multi-game road trips, they played better, but still failed to skate off with a win.
Now, they have another huge test back on the road. They will face the Edmonton Oilers in Alberta in a game that has playoff implications. The Oilers, who have won four straight games, are just two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division.
Scouting Edmonton
The Edmonton Oilers are surging. It's been an up-and-down year as the back-to-back defending Western Conference champions, but they are figuring it out at the perfect time.
Everything to do with the Oilers starts and ends with Connor McDavid, the best player on the planet. McDavid currently leads the National Hockey League with 125 points and is starting to heat up to another level with his overall game.
An issue for the Oilers is that Leon Draisaitl is out for the rest of the regular season. He hasn't played since March 15th, and he is still 4th in points (97), which quantifies just how dominant he is on his own.
McDavid and Draisaitl don't play together at even strength, so you know that they give the Oilers a magnificent two-headed monster when both are healthy. The Blackhawks won't have to deal with it in this game.
Podkolzin - McDavid - Savoie
Hyman - Nugent Hopkins - Roslovic
Henrique - Dickinson - Kapanen
Frederic - Samanski - Lazar
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Murphy
Walman - Emberson
Ingram
Jarry
With Draisaitl out, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has resumed playing center. He normally plays wing now when Draisaitl is in the lineup, but his absence has created the need for him to play his natural position, as he did full-time back in the day.
Jason Dickinson was traded from Chicago to Edmonton to be the shutdown center that they've been lacking. This will be his first game against the Blackhawks since the trade. Dickinson admitted that he has given some tips to his new teammates on how to play against Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks' penalty kill.
This is also Connor Murphy's first game against the Blackhawks in close to a decade. He claims nobody asked him for advice, and then joked that they probably saw him fail to stop Bedard during practice when they were teammates.
Evan Bouchard is the defenseman for everyone on the ice to always be wary of. He brings one of the hardest shots in the league, along with an incredible ability to generate offense for those around him. His 86 points lead all NHL defensemen.
Whether it's Tristan Jarry or Connor Ingram in the net is essentially a moot point for the Blackhawks. They are both middle-of-the-pack goaltenders who rely on the team in front of them to maintain their structure and feed on offense from their top guys.
Last Sunday, the Blackhawks let Jack Hughes take over the hockey game for the New Jersey Devils. If they want to have any chance of even slightly slowing down Connor McDavid, they must be much better defensively on the West Coast than they were on the East Coast.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks will have Sacha Boisvert back in the lineup on Thursday after a healthy scratch on Tuesday. Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar playing in front of him down the middle gives the Blackhawks a great young center core. The wings on those lines have been pretty set for a while.
Greene-Bedard-Lardis
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Mikheyev
Donato-Nazar-Burakovsky
Teräväinen-Boisvert-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Rinzel
Korchinski-Del Mastro
Knight
Soderblom
The Chicago Blackhawks appear to be going with Spencer Knight again against the Oilers. Arvid Soderblom spent a lot of time on the ice during Chicago's Thursday optional morning skate, a sure sign of backing up.
Outside of Boisvert coming in for Slaggert, they have been rolling with this lineup ever since Frondell moved to be a center. Defending well has been a problem for this makeup on the road, but scoring goals can come in bunches for this young group if they're all clicking at the same time.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found on CHSN locally. Nationally, it is available to stream on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 8:00 PM CT.
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