Blackhawks vs. Flyers: Foligno Not Ready, Lineups, Preview, & How To Watch Game 36

The Chicago Blackhawks (13-16-6) play their final game before the Christmas break against the Philadelphia Flyers (18-10-7) at the United Center on Tuesday night. It’s the first of two meetings between the Blackhawks and Flyers in the 2025-26 season.

Last time out, the Blackhawks had their losing streak extended to five games with a 6-4 defeat to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Ilya Mikheyev scored twice, while Andre Burakovsky and Nick Lardis also found the back of the net. It was Lardis’s first NHL goal in his fourth career game. Arvid Soderblom allowed six goals on 40 shots faced for his fifth straight loss. Chicago went 0-3-0 during its three-game Canadian road trip.

It’s been a disastrous first three weeks of December for the Blackhawks, with a 2-7-1 record in 10 games this month. After sitting in a wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference near Thanksgiving, the Blackhawks are now dead-last in the NHL standings with just 32 points through 35 games. To make matters worse, the team will be without its top two centers for an extended period, with Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar both currently out due to injury.

The Flyers come into Chicago for the back end of a back-to-back, as they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at home on Monday night. Nikita Grebenkin (1G, 1A) and Rodrigo Abols (2A) each tallied two points, while Carl Grundstrom, Christian Dvorak, Owen Tippett, and Matvei Michkov (EN) also scored in the win. Dan Vladar stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn the victory in net.

Philadelphia comes into Tuesday’s matchup with a 4-3-4 record in December and currently sits in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 43 points through 35 games. The first-place Carolina Hurricanes (.671) are the only team in the Eastern Conference with a better points percentage than the Flyers (.614) this season.

Here’s everything to note before the puck drops at 8:25 p.m. CT in Chicago.

Blackhawks Regular Season Notes (Last Five Games)

• 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.
• The Blackhawks mustered up only 15 shots on goal in a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Frank Nazar finally snapped his 21-game goal drought, but that was all the offensive output Chicago generated at the Bell Centre. The losing streak has now reached four games.
• From bad to worse. Not only did the Blackhawks suffer a fifth consecutive loss, but Frank Nazar also got injured early in the 6-4 defeat to the Ottawa Senators. Nazar is expected to miss approximately four weeks after taking a puck to the face in the first period.

Projected Blackhawks Lineup

Forward Lines

Tyler Bertuzzi — Ryan Greene – Andre Burakovsky

Oliver Moore — Ryan Donato — Nick Lardis

Teuvo Teravainen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev

Colton Dach — Dominic Toninato — Sam Lafferty

Defensive Pairings

Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier

Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov

Wyatt Kaiser-Connor Murphy

Scratched

D — Ethan Del Mastro

Injured

F — Connor Bedard (shoulder), F — Nick Foligno (hand), F — Frank Nazar (face)

Head coach Jeff Blashill did not put his team through line rushes at the morning skate, so the official lineup against the Flyers is to be determined.

Despite returning to practice on Monday, captain Nick Foligno is still not healthy enough to return to the lineup on Tuesday. Blashill confirmed after the morning skate that Foligno, who’s been out since Nov. 15, won’t play against Philadelphia.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Forward Lines

Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny

Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett

Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink

Carl Grundstrom — Rodrigo Abols — Nikita Grebenkin

Defensive Pairings

Cam York-Travis Sanheim

Emil Andrae-Jamie Drysdale

Nick Seeler-Rasmus Ristolainen

Scratched

F — Nicolas Deslauriers, F — Garnet Hathaway, D — Noah Juulsen

Injured

F — Tyson Foerster (upper body)

***

After playing in Philadelphia last night, the Flyers did not hold a morning skate in Chicago on Tuesday. The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are from Monday’s 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Projected Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (10-9-5, 2.57 GAA, .914 Sv%, 2 SO) vs. Samuel Ersson (5-4-4, 3.10 GAA, .867 Sv%, 0 SO)

Knight will make his 25th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old netminder allowed three goals on 34 shots faced in a loss to the Montreal Canadiens in his most recent outing on Thursday. Knight is 2-0-0 with a 4.54 GAA and .857 Sv% in two career games against Philadelphia.

Ersson is expected to make his 14th start of the season in net for the Flyers. The 26-year-old allowed four goals on 27 shots faced in a shootout loss to the New York Rangers in his previous start on Saturday. Ersson is 1-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .870 Sv% in two career games against Chicago.

2024-25 Results vs. Flyers

The Blackhawks and Flyers split the season series in the 2024-25 campaign, with the home team winning both games. Chicago has points in six of their last seven games against Philadelphia (4-1-2), including points in three of their past four games at the United Center (2-1-1).

11/23/24 — 3-2 OTL, Xfinity Mobile Arena

03/23/25 — 7-4 W, United Center

2025-26 Team Stats & Leaders

Chicago Blackhawks:

Goals — Connor Bedard (19)/Tyler Bertuzzi (16)

Assists — Connor Bedard (25)/Frank Nazar (15)/Andre Burakovsky & Artyom Levshunov (14)

Points — Connor Bedard (44)/Tyler Bertuzzi (26)

GF/GP — 2.80 (24th)

GA/GP — 3.11 (18th)

PP% — 21.2% (10th)

PK% — 84.3% (4th)

FOW% — 46% (31st)

Philadelphia Flyers:

Goals — Trevor Zegras (15)

Assists — Travis Konecny & Trevor Zegras (21)

Points — Trevor Zegras (36)

GF/GP — 2.94 (20th)

GA/GP — 2.80 (9th)

PP% — 16.5% (25th)

PK% — 81.1% (11th)

FOW% — 49.3% (20th)

How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info

Philadelphia Flyers (18-10-7, 43 points) @ Chicago Blackhawks (13-16-6, 32 points)

8:00 p.m. CT — United Center

Head Coaches: Rick Tocchet (PHI), Jeff Blashill (CHI)

TV/Stream: TNT (Burke/Pang/Hnidy), HBO MAX, truTV

Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now and like our Facebook Page.

Follow us on X:

@chihockeynow, @JackBushman2