On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings close out their lengthy road trip by traveling to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Blackhawks without breakout star Connor Bedard, who was sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury in Friday's contest versus the St. Louis Blues.
The 2023 first overall pick has lived up to expectations, recording a stunning 44 points in 31 games this season and ranking third in the NHL in scoring, tied with San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini. Bedard is one of two Blackhawks near or over a point-per-game over their recent 12-game dry spill and will really miss him versus a surging Detroit team.
The Red Wings seem to be rounding back into form, even after Thursday’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers ended a six-game point streak. That result sets the stage for an intriguing matchup, particularly after the Blackhawks handed Detroit a lopsided 5–1 loss in their last meeting at Little Caesars Arena, with the Red Wings now aiming for payback in Chicago.
Lineup Storylines
The Red Wings have faced a two-headed monster all season within their lineup with depth scoring issues, clashing with problems on the backend all season long. One issue has appeared to resolve itself as of late while the backend issues continue to persist as the Red Wings have gotten timely scoring from throughout their lineup.
Veterans Andrew Copp and James van Riemsdyk have both found their games as of late with Copp recording two goals and four assists for six points over his last five games since joining the second line with red hot forwards in Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, who Copp has picked up some momentum off.
Cat was hungry for another 😼 pic.twitter.com/2pGKr81EU4
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 11, 2025
The Michigan native has made some great plays in the last few games like making great passes for primary assists as well as working as a solid netfront presence for the two lethal shooters in DeBrincat and Kane. The former Blue Jackets winger in van Riemsdyk has also been sensational as of late with six goals over his last eight games.
At the same time, Detroit has still averaged three goals against per game since the start of their recent surge with 21 goals allowed over their last seven games. The hope is that they can continue to ride the hot hand of starting goaltender John Gibson, who has picked up his play as of late with four straight wins and back-to-back stellar starts entering Saturday with a 39-save shutout over the Vancouver Canucks this past Monday, followed by a 34-save effort on the road versus the Calgary Flames. If he can keep his current pace and finally tap into that level of play that the Red Wings traded for this past off-season, they may finally have the answer to their debate between who the routine starter should be.
The Blackhawks, on the other hand, are starting to see their early-season momentum, fueled by Bedard’s efforts, slow down, as they have managed just three wins over their last 12 games. Their offense has quietly averaged 2.25 goals per game during that span, while the defense has also struggled, allowing 3.67 goals against per game, which ranks fifth worst in the NHL.
Without Bedard, the focus will shift to veteran winger Tyler Bertuzzi, who is in the midst of a recent surge with 19 points over his last 16 games. The rest of the lineup, however, has struggled to produce, with only three players besides Bedard and Bertuzzi recording multiple goals during the 12-game dry spell. The Red Wings’ surging backend will look to further slow a sputtering Blackhawks offense and secure a much-needed bounce-back win in this matchup.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
Goalie Matchup
Detroit: John Gibson (Season: 8-7-1 record, 3.32 GAA, .884 | VS CHI: 6-10-1 record, 3.48 GAA, .891 SV% in 18 games)
Chicago: Arvid Soderblom (Season: 3-5-1 record, 3.92 GAA, .876 SV% | VS DET: Win, 45 Saves on 46 Shots in only game)
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.