The Chicago Blackhawks continue their six-game road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night at Climate Pledge Arena. Both teams enter with records of 5-4-3 for Chicago and 5-2-4 for Seattle, looking to build momentum after recent overtime losses. Projected lineups feature key returns and adjustments for both sides.
The Blackhawks, on their third game of a five-game West Coast swing, recently fell 3-2 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers. Forward Andre Burakovsky recorded two points (1G, 1A) in that contest, extending his three-game point streak to 2 goals and 3 assists this season. He has 4 goals and 5 assists in 11 games overall and is set for his first appearance against his former team since being traded to Chicago on June 21. Connor Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 6 goals and 9 assists in 12 games, riding a four-game point streak with 3 goals and 4 assists over his last three outings. Tyler Bertuzzi scored his third goal of the season on the power play against Edmonton and has points in back-to-back games against Seattle.
Rookie defenseman Artyom Levshunov assisted in the Oilers game, marking a career-long three-game point streak with 3 assists. He ranks third among NHL rookies with 5 assists in 11 games. Goalie Spencer Knight has started nine of 12 games with a .913 save percentage, stopping 27 of 30 shots in the Edmonton loss. The Blackhawks held an optional morning skate, with forward Oliver Moore making his season debut after a recall from Rockford of the AHL. Jason Dickinson returned to Chicago for treatment on an upper-body injury and is week to week, while Laurent Brossoit is out with a hip injury.
For the Kraken, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers, coach Lane Lambert shuffled lines at Monday's morning skate. Eeli Tolvanen moved to the top line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, while Jani Nyman joined Mason Marchment and Shane Wright. Kaapo Kakko lines with Chandler Stephenson and Jaden Schwartz. The Kraken rank last in the NHL with 263 shots and 24th in goals per game at 2.73. Lambert emphasized increasing shot volume: “Just putting more pucks to the net. You’ve got to score ‘greasy’ goals in this league. We’re not going to be able to pass it into the net.”
Goaltender Joey Daccord has a 5-1-3 record in nine starts but faces growing workload concerns. Injuries include Ryker Evans (upper body, missing 12th game), Frederick Gaudreau (upper body) and Jared McCann (lower body). Seattle's defense has kept games close, but they need more offense to sustain points from tight contests.
Blackhawks Projected Lines:
- Ryan Greene — Connor Bedard — Andre Burakovsky
- Teuvo Teravainen — Frank Nazar — Tyler Bertuzzi
- Ryan Donato — Colton Dach — Ilya Mikheyev
- Oliver Moore — Nick Foligno — Sam Lafferty
Defense: Alex Vlasic — Sam Rinzel; Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Murphy; Wyatt Kaiser — Artyom Levshunov
Goalies: Arvid Soderblom, Spencer Knight
Kraken Projected Lines:
- Eeli Tolvanen — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
- Mason Marchment — Shane Wright — Jani Nyman
- Jaden Schwartz — Chandler Stephenson — Kaapo Kakko
- Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Ryan Winterton
Defense: Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson; Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour; Josh Mahura — Jamie Oleksiak
Goalie: Joey Daccord