Blackhawks Game 72: Bertuzzi Looks to Stay Hot, Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs Devils

Chicago Blackhawks (21-41-9, 51 pts) vs New Jersey Devils (37-28-7, 81 pts)
6:30 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Chelios)/TNT (Albert/Olczyk/Boucher)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Murray)/LMN 1200 AM (Esparza/Moreno)

The Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils will wrap up their two-game season series tonight. The Blackhawks seek back-to-back wins after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, while the Devils aim to end their three-game losing streak.

Captain Nick Foligno knows it is difficult for a team out of the playoff race to finish strong down the stretch. However, he knows that essential building blocks can be laid in the foundation during these last 11 games.

“I knew what I signed up here to do; it’s to try and help move this thing forward,” Foligno said. “Whether it’s in increments or big jumps, we still have to push this thing forward and help. That’s where you separate yourself as a guy who really cares or a guy who just does it when it’s convenient. I think we’re weeding out some of those things, too, in here. We need guys who want to be a part of this.

“It’s not easy. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s hard. As you can see, it’s an emotional roller coaster. But we’re hoping we can solidify ourselves. It’s going to be an important last stretch heading into a really important summer, where we can move off of this feeling. These last games are so important for the identity we’re trying to be.”

Foligno’s leadership will be even more significant in these final weeks as the team will be without Jason Dickinson. Tyler Bertuzzi is coming off a season-high three-point game against the Flyers. He loves seeing the Devils on the schedule, as he has seven goals and 15 points in his last 10 games against New Jersey.

Season Series

12/14 1-4 @ NJD
3/26 vs NJD

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Ryan Donato (25)
A-Teuvo Teravainen (40)
P-Connor Bedard (56)
PPG-Bedard (9)
GWG-Bedard (5)
SOG-Bedard (169)
PIM-Pat Maroon (86)

Devils Team Leaders

G-Nico Hischier (30)
A-Jesper Bratt (62)
P-Bratt (82)
PPG-Hischier (13)
GWG-Jack Hughes (7)
SOG-Hughes (229)
PIM-Brenden Dillon (65)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.70 (25^th)
GA/G-3.55 (30^th)
PP%-25.5 (8^th)
PK%-81.7 (9^th)
SOG/G-24.4 (32^nd)
SA/G-31.4 (30^th)
FO%-45.1 (31^st)
PIM/G-8:57 (24^th)

Devils Team Stats

GF/G-2.96 (16^th)
GA/G-2.61 (5^th)
PP%-27.4 (4^th)
PK%-82.6 (4^th)
SOG/G-28.5 (13^th)
SA/G-26.6 (6^th)
FO%-49.6 (19^th)
PIM/G-8:29 (19^th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Donato-Frank Nazar-Connor Bedard
Teuvo Teravainen-Nick Foligno Ilya Mikheyev
Philipp Kurashev-Joe Veleno-Tyler Bertuzzi
Landon Slaggert -Lukas Reichel-Pat Maroon

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Ethan Del Mastro-Connor Murphy
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov

Scratched
D-T.J. Brodie

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee), F-Colton Dach (elbow), F-Jason Dickinson (wrist), D-Alec Martinez (upper body)

Devils Probable Lines

Forwards
Erik Haula-Nico Hischier-Timo Meier
Stefan Noesen-Dawson Mercer-Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat-Paul Cotter-Curtis Lazar
Nolan Foote-Justin Dowling-Nathan Bastian

Defensemen
Luke Hughes-Brett Pesce
Brian Dumolin-Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon-Simon Nimec

Scratched
F-Tomas Tatar, F-Cody Glass, F-Daniel Sprong, D-Dennis Cholowski

Injured
D-Dougie Hamilton (lower body), F-Jack Hughes (shoulder), D-Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body), Santeri Hatakka (shoulder)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (15-12-1, .906 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 2 SO) vs Jacob Markstrom (22-14-6, .900 SV%. 2.50 GAA, 3 SO)