The Chicago Blackhawks just earned their gutsiest win of the season on Saturday night. They woke up after a three-day holiday break, got on a plane, flew to Dallas without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, and beat one of the best teams in the NHL to snap a six-game losing streak.
Blackhawks Snap Losing Streak With Quality Win Over Stars The Chicago Blackhawks picked up a quality win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. Now, on the second half of a back-to-back, the Blackhawks will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center. Quickly, the mentality is to turn the losing streak into a winning streak.
Scouting Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a lot of success over the last 20 years. However, they are in a strange phase right now as their aging superstars are still great, but the rest of the team is not good enough to be a playoff team.
At 15-12-9, the Penguins are only three points below the playoff line, but they are the third-to-last team in the conference. Anything can happen, but making the postseason would be a tremendous challenge for them at this point.
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Mantha-Novak-Brazeau
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Silovs
For the last 20 years, everything to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins started and ended with Sidney Crosby. It still does in 2025-26. He leads the team with 20 goals and 38 points in 36 games played.
He will lead their top line alongside Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. This is the line that the Blackhawks will need their best against at all times. Crosby knows how to defend well, be hard to forecheck against, and turn it all into offense.
This forward group has some notable players alongside some young guys looking to establish their games at the NHL level.
They will, however, be missing Evgeni Malkin, who has missed the last 10 games with an injury. He won't return against Chicago, but he did skate before practice on Saturday. Malkin, like Crosby, will be a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest ever.
On defense, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang are the two leaders. Fittingly, they are aging superstars who will be in the Hall of Fame like Crosby and Malkin, but they still know how to get it done at a high level. In goal for Pittsburgh will be Arturs Silovs.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks, playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel, have the cards stacked against them in this matchup as well. However, they've proven that they can compete in situations like this. Without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, it's an even harder challenge, but coach Blashill will have them prepared to give it a good effort.
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Knight
Captain Nick Foligno has been unable to return over their last couple of games, but every match is a chance for him to come back. If it is in this matchup, you can expect one of Sam Lafferty or Dominic Toninato to take a seat from this group.
Landon Slaggert was called up from Rockford to replace Ilya Mikheyev, who is out due to the birth of his child, but he played so well against the Stars that it would be hard to bench him one night later.
Arvid Soderblom started in goal for the Blackhawks on Saturday night. That means that Spencer Knight will likely get the nod against the Penguins on Sunday.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 6 PM CT.
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