The Chicago Blackhawks played through the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday night, as they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center. 

After a big win on Saturday night over the Dallas Stars ended a six-game losing streak, the Blackhawks had to feel good about their chances to put forth a good effort against the Penguins. 

Before the game started, the Hawks announced that Nick Foligno would return from injury. To make room for him, Frank Nazar was put on injured reserve, retroactive to December 20th. Ilya Mikheyev remained out due to the birth of his child. 

Spencer Knight was given the nod after Arvid Soderblom's big win one night prior, but it didn't go well for him. He looked leaky from the start. After allowing four goals on seven shots to open the game, Jeff Blashill decided to pull him. Soderblom made his second appearance in as many nights. 

When down 4-0, Foligno scored his first of the season after missing all of that time with an injury. The good vibes created from that didn't last, however, as Justin Brazeau scored two goals in under a minute shortly after Foligno's marker. By the end of the second period, it was 7-2 Penguins. 

In the third period, Spencer Knight returned to the net for Chicago. After it failed to create a spark, there was no reason to continue letting Soderblom play for a second night in a row. Both goalies will be available in their next game, which is the best-case scenario after a weekend like this one. 

With less than one second remaining in the game, down 7-2, Tyler Bertuzzi shot one past Arturs Silovs before the buzzer. No matter what the score was, Bertuzzi was giving it his best effort until the very end. That kind of leadership and “never say die” attitude is just what this young group needs from their veterans right now. 

The score of 7-3 would be the final. This is the fourth back-to-back situation that the Hawks have had this season. They have lost by four or more goals in every one. It's an issue that the team is working to fix. 

Losses like this are going to happen for Chicago, especially with the injuries that they are dealing with. However, it is about the process of turning this franchise into a winner again. Moving on from this one quickly is incredibly important to bouncing back in their next match. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

welcome back, Captain‼️🫡 pic.twitter.com/Pf6XcmpIwa

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 29, 2025

we know #wkfc is going to love this👏 pic.twitter.com/OpcJzX3FMR

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 29, 2025

Tyler Bertuzzi scores with 0.7 seconds left in regulation for his 19th goal of the season, which ties Connor Bedard for the team lead. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/912I2tknbu

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 29, 2025

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Tuesday night. They will remain in Chicago as they will host the New York Islanders at the United Center. This will be Chicago's first-ever look at the 2025 first-overall pick, Matthew Schaefer. 

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After getting back into the Stanley Cup playoff picture with their current eight-game win streak, the Buffalo Sabres still have to navigate their way through the rest of the season, and if you look ahead at the teams they’ll be facing in the next month or so, you’ll find that the Sabres’ entire year could come down to the way they play in a two-week schedule.

Here’s what we mean: the Sabres’ schedule includes three of its next four games coming against soft-touches in the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks. But after that – from Jan. 8-through Jan. 19 – Buffalo is going to get serious tests against some of the best teams in the NHL. 

Starting on the 8th, the Sabres will take on, in order, the New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes are all going to give Buffalo a run for their money. And unless the Sabres can keep their head above water, they’re going to see this solid stretch of games ostensibly wasted.

Now, winning eight games in a row is quite the feat. Eight games is 10 percent of the season. So to get the maximum 16 standings points is something Buffalo can take pride in. But the NHL game is a constant grind, and who knows – maybe the Sabres lose eight games in a row. And really, any considerable stretch of time where Buffalo is not making the most of their opportunities, is going to erase any gains they make prior to their losing skid.

Patience, Sabres Fans – World Junior Success Doesn't Guarantee Buffalo's Prospects A Successful NHL FutureThe Buffalo Sabres will have four players at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. But success at the World Junior tournament offers little guarantee prospects of NHL success. While World Junior glory would be great, the Sabres' youngsters need more time and patience to develop.

Certainly, the Sabres’ strong play has saved the job of coach Lindy Ruff – for now, at least. But by finding ways to eke out victories in games they would previously have found ways to eke out losses. Buffalo’s players are confident, and why wouldn’t they be – in their eight-game winning streak, the Sabres have beaten high-end teams including the Flyers, New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers. And Buffalo has taken care of business in beating teams that aren’t so strong. 

Consequently, the Sabres are back in the thick of the playoff race. But think of how they had to beat the odds just to be on the fringe of the playoff picture. This is why Buffalo has to put its nose to the grindstone, and survive these upcoming games while keeping pace in the Atlantic Division.

For A Christmas Present, Sabres Fans Need This More Than Anything ElseFans of the Buffalo Sabres could use more than a few presents this holiday season. But there's one thing Sabres fans crave more than run-of-the-mill holiday cheer – they're seeking genuine hope.

If the opposite happens and the Sabres lose for most, if not all of their games, you can point to this stretch as the place where their season began to swirl down the drain.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets scored a pair of third-period goals in just over a minute and rallied to beat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Sunday for their second straight win.

Kirill Marchenko scored his second goal of the night with 3:19 left in the game, just over a minute after Ivan Provorov knotted the score at 2-2. Cole Sillinger added an empty-netter, and Denton Mateychuk and Sean Monahan both had two assists. Jet Greaves stopped 24 shots.

Max Shabanov and Bo Horvat scored for New York, and David Rittich made 31 saves for the Islanders, who seemed to have the win in hand but instead dropped the first game of their two-stop road trip to end 2025.

Marchenko buried a breakaway at 8:09 of the first period to open the scoring, and Shabanov pulled the Islanders even with 2:44 left in the period when a puck deflected off his knee and slid past Greaves.

The second period started in chaos when Mat Barzal reacted to a Mason Marchment tripping penalty by taking a two-handed chop to Marchment’s right foot, resulting in a major penalty and a game misconduct ejection. Columbus then failed to score on a 3-on-4 power play following Adam Pelech’s tripping penalty on Miles Wood.

Horvat gave New York the lead with 6:36 left in the second period on a wrist shot that marked his first goal since missing five games with a lower-body injury.

Columbus fought back to tie the score on Provorov’s goal with 4:33 left in the third period before Marchenko put the Blue Jackets ahead and Sillinger sealed the win.

Up next

Islanders visit Chicago on Tuesday.

Blue Jackets visit Ottawa on Monday.