Friday, December 23, 2022 – 8:30 P.M. EST
United Center – Chicago, Illinois
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Second City Hockey
Columbus Blue Jackets (10-20-2, 22 points, 8th Metro, 16th East)
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Chicago Blackhawks (7-20-4, 18 points, 8th Central, 16th West)
Here’s one for the true freaks out there: you’re staying home because of the cold weather, it’s after 8 o’clock two nights before Christmas, and you sit down to watch the worst team in each conference face off. Given how much each team could benefit from winning the draft lottery, I wouldn’t be surprised if their two games in the next eight days resemble the boxing match in Sgt. Bilko:
Columbus is in the midst of a six game losing streak, while Chicago has lost their last eight.
Player to Watch
Adam Boqvist
Hey, remember this guy? The former Blackhawk returns to the lineup tonight against his old team. He played just four games this season before suffering a broken foot. Feels like he’s been out forever, right? For a blue line ravaged by injuries the return of a legitimate NHL talent is huge. He’s not known for his actual, you know, defensive game, but in limited, sheltered action this year his possession numbers were quite good. This is a great opportunity for him to seize a bigger role.
Jackets Notes
Boqvist isn’t the only returning player, as goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was also activated off of the IR yesterday. To make room, Cole Sillinger was placed on IR and Jet Greaves was returned to Cleveland … Yegor Chinakhov’s injury was confirmed as a high ankle sprain, with an expected recovery time of six weeks. That’s a tough injury that can linger for awhile and the only solution is rest. Still, that’s better than the ACL tear that I feared it might be.
The Other Bench
In their last game, the Blackhawks lost at home on Wednesday to the Predators … Apparently Ottawa inquired about a trade for Seth Jones, but discussions didn’t get far. Not a great sign that Chicago is even taking calls in the first year of his eight year contract … Jones is one of many former Jackets we’ll see tonight. Max Domi is playing first line center after all, go figure! Jack Johnson — excuse me, Stanley Cup Winner Jack Johnson —- is on defense, along with Columbus native Connor Murphy. The new Blackhawks coach this season is former Jackets captain Luke Richardson
Season Series
12/23/2022 CBJ @ CHI
12/31/2022 CHI @ CBJ
Stats
| Chicago | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.26 (32) | GPG | 2.72 (27) |
| 3.81 (29) | GAPG | 4.03 (31) |
| 21.9% (17) | PP% | 15.1% (31) |
| 70.8% (29) | PK% | 77.8% (18) |
| 41.8% (32) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 45.1% (29) |
| 41.8% (32) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 45.3% (29) |
| 6.4 (31) | 5v5 Shooting % | 8.2 (19) |
| .903 (30) | 5v5 Save % | .898 (31) |
| Max Domi and Jonathan Toews, 10 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 11 |
| Patrick Kane, 18 | A Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 24 |
| Patrick Kane, 22 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 34 |
| Max Domi, 37 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 41 |
| 4-12-2 | Home / Road | 2-9-1 |
| 1-9-0 | Last 10 | 2-8-0 |
Projected Lineups
| Patrik Laine | Kent Johnson | Johnny Gaudreau |
| Gus Nyquist | Jack Roslovic | Kirill Marchenko |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Mathieu Olivier |
| Liam Foudy | Josh Dunne | Carson Meyer |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Marcus BJORK |
| Tim Berni | Erik Gudbranson |
| Adam Boqvist | Andrew Peeke |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Daniil Tarasov |
| Tyler Johnson | Max Domi | Patrick Kane |
| Philipp Kurashev | Jonathan Toews | Taylor Raddysh |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Jason Dickinson | Sam Lafferty |
| Boris Katchouk | Reese Johnson | Mackenzie Entwistle |
| Jake McCabe | Seth Jones |
| Isaak Phillips | Connor Murphy |
| Jack Johnson | Ian Mitchell |
| Petr Mrazek |
| Alex Stalock |