New Linemates for Connor Bedard in Blackhawks Rematch with Bruins

Connor Bedard will be flanked by a fresh pair of wingers when the Chicago Blackhawks meet the undefeated Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at the United Center.

Bedard scored his first goal at home as a Blackhawk on Saturday, just 90 seconds into a contest against defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas on a pass from Taylor Hall. Bedard, wide open in the slot, fired a power-play score past Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill for a 1-0 lead that had the near-sellout crowd at the United Center roaring at full blast.

But Hall re-aggravated a shoulder injury he orginally suffered in Boston on Oct. 11, left the game against Vegas and is expected be sidelined "week-to-week" coach Luke Richardson said on Monday. 

And the Blackhawks fell to Vegas, 5-3, for their second straight loss and slipped to 2-4. Bedard was involved in a coverage mistake that led to Nicolas Roy scoring on a 2-on-1 break 13 seconds into the third period that snapped a 2-all tie and put Vegas ahead for good.

So time for some changes. Bedard centered a line with Tyler Johnson on the left side and 35-year-old Nick Foligno on the right in practice on Monday. See video below.

"The last few games, we haven't gotten the job done," Richardson said. "We've played two really good teams. We're still going to try to find something that will get us over that hump right now with a guy like Taylor out and see what works." See more in the next video.

Here are projected lines and defense pairings for Tuesday's game against 5-0 Boston, one of three NHL teams that remain unbeaten. Vegas and Colorado, which overwhelmed the Blackhawks 4-0 in Denver last week, are the others.

The Bruins beat the Hawks 3-1 on Oct. 11 at the TD Garden in Boston's home opener. Hall suffered his shoulder injury in early in the second period of that game on a big hit from Brandon Carlo.

Forward Philipp Kurashev is expected to play his first regular-season game after suffering a left wrist injury in Chicago's opening preseason contest against St.Louis on Sept. 28.

Kurashev isn't exactly sure how he suffered the injury and had no idea it would sideline him for several weeks.

"I practiced the next day too and it just kept hurting," he said. 'It's been a long time. I'm just happy to be back."

Kurashev originally had been pencilled in on a speedy line with Lukas Reichel at center and Andreas Athanasiou on the right side. The 24-year-old forward signed a two-year contract with a $2.25 annual cap hit over the summer after becoming a restricted free agent.

"He looked good in practice, so we're going to see how he looks in the morning to double-check and make sure," Richardson said.

NOTES: Forward Colin Blackwell skated in his first full practice since underdoing hernia surgery last March. The 30-year-old, a former Harvard University player, got emotional when talking to reporters about his injury and recovery. "It's the first time in awhile that I've felt pretty good," Blackwell said. "So the last week or so I've been able to take my dog for a walk in the morning without any pain and be able to get on the ice and skate and stuff."