The Chicago Blackhawks are back at home for the 2025-26 season. This, their centennial season, will begin with a game at the United Center against the Montreal Canadiens.
Chicago started their season on the road with two losses to the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins, respectively. The latter of the two came in overtime, so the Blackhawks do have one standings point.
Over the first two games, there have been some things to like about the way that the Blackhawks played, and some things that need major improvement.
3 Things We Learned From Blackhawks Season Opening Road Trip
The Chicago Blackhawks are now 0-1-1 through two games to open their season. It began with two road Eastern Conference matches. Chicago lost to the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night and dropped an overtime game 4-3 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Last season, the Canadiens were really hot towards the end of the season. It earned them a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the Blackhawks suffered two of their losses throughout their great run. Chicago will be looking to repeat that success against Montreal in their home opener.
Calder Trophy Love
The Chicago Blackhawks have forward Connor Bedard, and the Montreal Canadiens have defenseman Lane Hutson. They are the last two winners of the NHL’s Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Each of them is an impact player in their own way and will be looking to lead their teams to victory in this one.
Bedard is a shifty center who makes incredible plays and has a high-end shot. He impacts the game with his offensive tools as a center. As for Hutson, he is a dynamic offensive defenseman who can make plays at even strength while being a top-tier power play quarterback.
Expected Lines And Defense Pairs
Dach – Bedard – Burakovsky
Teravainen – Nazar – Bertuzzi
Donato – Greene – Mikheyev
Foligno – Reichel – Lafferty
Vlasic – Rinzel
Kaiser – Levshunov
Grzelcyk – Murphy
(Crevier)
Knight
Spencer Knight is the expected starter for the Blackhawks in their home opener. He was brilliant in Chicago’s first game of the season, as the main reason they were even in the game at all. Without him, the Florida Panthers would have run away with the game. Instead, it was just a 3-2 loss.
Jason Dickinson is notably missing from this group. He left Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins and never returned. That is a big loss for Chicago as one of their top checking centers is missing from the lineup. Expect Ryan Greene’s role on the team to increase in Dickinson’s absence.
Right before the game on Thursday, the Blackhawks announced that they would dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Louis Crevier was in the lineup, and Sam Lafferty was the healthy scratch. With Jason Dickinson out, it will be interesting to see if they go that route again.
If they don’t, will Lukas Reichel make his season debut? Will Sam Lafferty play, and Reichel stay out? Regardless, these are mostly what the lines are going to look like in this matchup.
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 NHL Network. The puck will drop at the United Center just after 6:00 PM CT.
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