Blackhawks Game Day
Blackhawks Game 46, Martinez Revenge Game, Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs Golden Knights

Chicago Blackhawks (14-28-3, 31 pts) vs Vegas Golden Knights (29-13-3, 61 pts)
7 p.m. CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Murray), LMN 1200 AM (Esparza/Moreno)
The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight as we get our first look at the Vegas Golden Knights this season. Both teams are coming off losses. The Blackhawks dropped a 3-2 shootout to the Nashville Predators Friday, while Vegas lost 3-2 at the Carolina Hurricanes last night. The Golden Knights have lost two in a row and four out of their last five games. The Edmonton Oilers have won eight of their previous nine games and have caught Vegas at the top of the Pacific Division.
The Golden Knights have dominated the Blackhawks since arriving in 2017. They took eight out of nine possible points last season. Vegas is 13-2-3 all-time against Chicago. Their loss last night made them 3-4-0 on the first night of back-to-back games. They are 5-1-0 in the second game.
Vegas is what a Stanley Cup contender looks like. They are big and fast, play solid defense, and get scoring from up and down the lineup. They have seven different players with at least 10 goals this season. Pavel Dorofeyev, who leads the team with 19 goals, plays on the third line. They are fourth in the NHL with 3.41 goals per game. Their 2.69 goals allowed per game is the sixth lowest.
Expect a lot of 5v5 hockey tonight. The Golden Knights have taken only 106 penalties, the fewest in the NHL, and they have also drawn the fewest penalties, with only 117. The Blackhawks have a good power-play unit; they just don’t get them on the ice enough, especially lately. They have drawn 131 penalties this season, the third-fewest in the league.
Neither team held a morning skate today. Petr Mrazek is the likely starting goaltender tonight, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise if Arvid Soderblom gets back-to-back starts after making a season-high 39 saves against the Predators. Ilya Samsonov will start for Vegas since Aiden Hill played last night.
Tonight’s game will be Alec Martinez’s first against his former team. He had 21 goals and 79 points in his 221 games with the Golden Knights and helped them win the 2023 Stanley Cup. Taylor Hall has a three-game point streak against Vegas and has three goals and nine points in nine career games. Connor Bedard’s first career goal at the United Center came against Vegas last season. He had two goals and an assist in the three-game season series.
Season Series
1/18 vs VGK
2/27 @ VGK
3/28 vs VGK
Blackhawks Team Leaders
G-Tyler Bertuzzi (14)
A-Connor Bedard (27)
P-Bedard (40)
PPG-Bertuzzi (6)
GWG-Bedard (3)
SOG-Bedard (107)
PIM-Pat Maroon (46)
Golden Knights Team Leaders
G-Pavel Dorofeyev (19)
A-Jack Eichel (44)
P-Eichel (55)
PPG-Dorofeyev (8)
GWG-5 tied with 3
SOG-Eichel (132)
PIM-Nicolas Roy (31)
Blackhawks Team Stats
GF/G-2.53 (30th)
GA/G-3.42 (29th)
PP%-23.1 (12th)
PK%-83.1 (4th)
SOG/G-25.1 (31st)
SA/G-30.7 (28th)
FO%-44.6 (30th)
PIM/G-8:20 (15th)
Golden Knights Team Stats
GF/G-3.38 (4th)
GA/G-2.69 (6th)
PP%-26.4 (5th)
PK%-78.9 (17th)
SOG/G-30.7 (5th)
SA/G-27.1 (8th)
FO%-51.2 (12th)
PIM/G-5:22 (22)
Blackhawks Probable Lines
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi-Connor Bedard-Frank Nazar
Colton Dach-Lukas Reichel-Nick Foligno
Teuvo Teravainen-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Taylor Hall-Ryan Donato-Pat Maroon
Defensemen
Alec Martinez-Seth Jones
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Nolan Allan-T.J. Brodie
Scratched:
F-Philipp Kurashev, D-Wyatt Kaiser
Injured:
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee), D-Connor Murphy (groin), F-Craig Smith (back)
Golden Knights Probable Lines
Forwards
Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Mark Stone
Cole Schwindt-William Karlsson-Brett Howden
Victor Olofsson-Tomas Hertl-Pavel Dorofeyev
Tanner Pearson-Alexander Holtz-Keegan Kolesar
Defensemen
Noah Hanifin-Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague-Zach Whitecloud
Scratched
D-Ben Hutton, D-Kaedan Korczak, F-Nicolas Roy
Injured
D-Lukas Cormier (undisclosed), F-Jordan Gustafson (undisclosed), G-Robin Lehner (hip)
Goaltending Matchup
Petr Mrazek (8-16-1, .893 GAA, 3.25 GAA, 0 SO) vs Ilya Samsonov (11-5-1, .904 SV%, 2.70 GAA, 1 SO)