Blackhawks Game Day
Blackhawks vs. Canadiens: Levshunov Returns, Preview, Lineups, & How To Watch
The Chicago Blackhawks’ road trip continues into Montreal for an Original Six matchup with the Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday night.
It’s the second and final meeting of the 2025-26 season between the two teams, with the Canadiens winning the first game 3-2 at the United Center on Oct. 11. Montreal spoiled the Blackhawks’ home opener that night, with defenseman Kaiden Guhle scoring the game-winning goal with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Sam Rinzel and Connor Bedard were the two goal scorers for Chicago. Spencer Knight got the start in net and stopped 25 of 28 shots faced.
Last time out, the Blackhawks suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat in Toronto on Tuesday to begin the three-game Canadian road trip on a sour note. With a 2-1 lead and less than four minutes remaining, the Hawks gave up two goals in eight seconds to the Maple Leafs to suddenly trail by one. That now marks three consecutive losses for the Blackhawks, and the team is also 0-2-0 in two games without Bedard in the lineup. Wyatt Kaiser and Jason Dickinson (SHG) were responsible for the two goals in Toronto.
The Canadiens are coming off a 4-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in their last time out on Tuesday. Alex Texier opened the scoring for Montreal, only for the Flyers to rattle off four unanswered goals. Young goaltender Jacob Fowler earned the first regulation loss of his career, allowing three goals on just 20 shots faced.
With 38 points through 33 games this season, the Canadiens sit just outside the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. The Habs are one point back of the New Jersey Devils for the second wildcard playoff position and are tied with the Florida Panthers for the most points by a team (both Eastern and Western Conference) that’s not currently in a postseason spot.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops at 6:00 p.m. CT in Montreal.
Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)
- For the second time in as many nights, the Blackhawks were on the wrong end of a one-sided affair, getting throttled 7-1 by the Anaheim Ducks. What a disastrous way to end the West Coast road trip.
- Following two disastrous defeats, the Blackhawks bounced back with arguably the top team performance of the season in a 3-0 shutout win over the Rangers. Connor Bedard tallied two points, while Spencer Knight stopped all 21 shots faced.
- Well, that was a nightmare. Not only did the Blackhawks lose 3-2 to the rival St. Louis Blues, but star forward Connor Bedard suffered an injury in the final second of the game. Wonderful.
- Life without Connor Bedard isn’t so easy. In the first game without Bedard this season, the Blackhawks were shut out 4-0 by the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane combined for three of the four Red Wings’ goals in their returns to the United Center.
- After leading 2-0 for most of the game, the Blackhawks surrendered three unanswered goals in the third period, including two in eight seconds, to lose 3-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Five minutes separated Chicago from one of its best team wins of the season.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup
Forward Lines
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frank Nazar – Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Lardis — Ryan Greene — Oliver Moore
Colton Dach — Dominic Toninato — Ryan Donato
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov
Wyatt Kaiser-Connor Murphy
Scratched
D — Ethan Del Mastro, F — Sam Lafferty
Injured
F — Connor Bedard (undisclosed), F — Nick Foligno (hand)
***
The Blackhawks did not go through line rushes at their morning skate on Tuesday. However, the team did practice a few power-play drills, and Artyom Levshunov was quarterbacking the second unit. Head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed that Levshunov will return to the lineup against Montreal after being scratched on Tuesday.
It’s unknown at this time which defenseman will draw out of the lineup for Levshunov, or if Blashill will dress all seven on the active roster.
Canadiens Projected Lineup
Forward Lines
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Zack Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky — Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier — Owen Beck — Josh Anderson
Joe Veleno — Jake Evans — Brendan Gallagher
Defensive Pairings
Lane Hutson-Alexandre Carrier
Jayden Struble-Noah Dobson
Arber Xhekaj-Adam Engstrom
Scratched
F — Jared Davidson, G — Sam Montembeault
Injured
F — Kirby Dach (broken foot), D — Kaiden Guhle (lower body), F — Patrik Laine (lower body), D — Mike Matheson (upper body), F — Alex Newhook (broken ankle)
Projected Goaltending Matchup
Spencer Knight (10-8-5, 2.55 GAA, .914 Sv%, 2 SO) vs. Jakub Dobes (11-5-2, 3.03 GAA, .892 Sv%, 0 SO)
Knight will make his 24th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old netminder stopped 24 of 27 shots faced in a loss to the Maple Leafs in his most recent start on Tuesday. Knight is 1-2-0 with a 3.35 GAA and .881 Sv% in three career games against Montreal.
Dobes will make his 18th start of the season in net for the Canadiens. The 24-year-old goaltender allowed only one goal on 28 shots faced in a win over the Edmonton Oilers in his most recent start on Sunday. Dobes has yet to face Chicago in his young NHL career.
2025-26 Results vs. Canadiens
The Canadiens won the first meeting of the season, 3-2, at the United Center on Oct. 11. However, the Blackhawks have points in 19 of their last 25 games (16-6-3) against Montreal and have earned points in 10 of their last 12 games (8-2-2) at Bell Centre.
10/11/25 — 3-2 L, United Center
12/18/25 — Bell Centre
2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Connor Bedard (19)/Tyler Bertuzzi (16)
Assists — Connor Bedard (25)/Frank Nazar (15)
Points — Connor Bedard (44)/Tyler Bertuzzi (26)
GF/GP — 2.82 (25th)
GA/GP — 3.00 (14th)
PP% — 21.3% (10th)
PK% — 83.9% (4th)
FOW% — 46.5% (29th)
Montreal Canadiens:
Goals — Cole Caufield (17)
Assists — Nick Suzuki (28)
Points — Nick Suzuki (37)
GF/GP — 3.15 (12th)
GA/GP — 3.48 (31st)
PP% — 26.1% (4th)
PK% — 76.9% (25th)
FOW% — 49.3% (21st)
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (13-14-6, 32 points) @ Montreal Canadiens (17-12-4, 38 points)
6:00 p.m. CT — Bell Centre
Head Coaches: Jeff Blashill (CHI), Martin St. Louis (MTL)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), TSN2, RDS
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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