Blackhawks Game Day Preview: "Original 6" matchup in Toronto

Chicago Blackhawks (8-14-2, 18 pts) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (14-7-2, 30 pts)
6:30 pm CT – Scotiabank Arena
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: 720 AM (Wiedeman/Murray)

The Chicago Blackhawks are right back at it tonight with an “Original 6” matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They will look to shake off Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Saturday.

The Blackhawks swept the two-series with the Maple Leafs last season. Jason Dickinson scored a hat trick in their last meeting on Nov. 24 before Kevin Korchinski won the game in overtime. Arvid Soderblom will get the start in goal after former Maple Leaf Petr Mrazek started the last five games. Soderblom had a disastrous 2023-24 season, but he had two bright spots against Toronto, going 2-0-0 with a .945 save percentage (SV%) and 1.93 goals-against average (GAA). Head coach Luke Richardson will meet the media at 4 pm, so we’ll have any lineup updates then.

The Maple Leafs are dealing with a ton of injuries right now. Former Blackhawks Jake McCabe, Max Domi, and David Kampf will all miss tonight’s game. There were so many missing bodies up front that the Maple Leafs signed Alex Nylander to an NHL contract and called him up. Superstar Auston Matthews returned against the Lightning after missing nine games and picked up a pair of assists.

Despite all the injuries, the Maple Leafs have succeeded thanks to an improved team defense and good goaltending. The defensive improvements were expected under new head coach Craig Berube. Tonight’s starter, Anthony Stolarz, and Joseph Woll have combined for a .922 SV% and 2.23 GAA.

Season Series

12/2 @ TOR
2/23 vs TOR

Quotables

“Sure, it’s a good thing, I guess. But it doesn’t really mean anything. We’ve been feeling good about it, but still losing games, so it doesn’t really help.”

Alex Vlasic on recent power play success.

“We haven’t had everybody out at the same time, which is manageable. The young guys have had a little bit of experience showing this year. Louis Crevier has come up and played really well in the last few games. Kaiser has had a good start to the season, using his legs. And Nolan Allan had a really good camp. We’re happy with the way things have worked.”

Luke Richardson on the Blackhawks defense.

‘‘We’re a team that [has to] earn respect every time we play, and no team thinks they’re out of it against us. We have to prove to them they’re out of it. It’s a hard thing to do.’’

Nick Foligno

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Ryan Donato (10)
A-Connor Bedard (14)
P-Connor Bedard (19)
PPG-Teuvo Teravainen (4)
SOG-Bedard (66)
PIM-Pat Maroon/Connor Murphy (28)

Maple Leafs Team Leaders

G-William Nylander (15)
A-Mitch Marner (22)
P-Marner (31)
PPG-Nylander (5)
SOG-Nylander (83)
PIM-Ryan Reaves (23)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.50 (29^th)
GA/G-3.09 (18^th)
PP%-25.0 (8^th)
PK%-79.7 (17^th)
SOG/G-26.1 (30^th)
SA/G-31.0 (27^th)
FO%-44.5 (30^th)
PIM/G-7:47 (11th)

Maple Leafs Team Stats

GF/G-3.04 (15th)  
GA/G-2.61 (3^rd)
PP%-20.0 (17^th)
PK%-81.5 (8^th)
SOG/G-29.9 (9^th)
SA/G-29.0 (21^st)
FO%-53.9 (2^nd)
PIM/G-9:18 (23^rd)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Taylor Hall-Connor Bedard-Philipp Kurashev
Tyler Bertuzzi-Ryan Donato-Teuvo Teravainen
Ilya Mikheyev-Jason Dickinson-Nick Foligno
Pat Maroon-Lukas Reichel-Craig Smith

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Connor Murphy
Wyatt Kaiser-Alec Martinez
T.J. Brodie-Louis Crevier

Scratched:
F-Joey Anderson, D-Nolan Allan

Injured:
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee), D-Seth Jones (foot)

Maple Leafs Probable Lines

Forwards
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-William Nylander
Pontus Holmberg-John Tavares-Mitch Marner
Nicolas Robertson-Fraser Minten-Steven Lorentz
Nikita Grebenkin-Connor Dewar-Alex Nylander

Defensemen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly-Phillippe Myers
Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins

Scratched
F-Ryan Reeves (suspended), D-Marshall Rifai

Injured
D-Jake McCade (upper body), F-Bobby McMann (lower body), F-Max Domi (lower body), F-David Kampf (lower body), F-Max Pacioretty (lower body), F-Calle Jarnkrok (hernia), D-Dakota Mermis (fractured jaw), D-Jani Hakanpaa (knee)

Goaltending Matchup

Arvid Soderblom (1-4-1, .926 SV%, 2.36 GAA, 0 SO) vs Anthony Stolarz (7-4-2, .921 SV%, 2.33 GAA, 1 SO)

Get Chicago's Best Sports Content In Your Inbox!Become a smarter Chicago sports fan with the latest game recaps, analysis and exclusive content from CHGO’s writers and podcasters!

Just drop your email below!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Sign Up Now!