Like a Virgin: Blackhawks vs. Bruins Preview

The Chicago Blackhawks host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night, looking to reset their homestand after dropping three straight games at the United Center.

The Bruins have put together a decently strong season so far, sitting in a wild card spot with a .583 points percentage (27-19-2), which is no small feat considering they’re slogging through what is arguably the toughest division in hockey — one where every team is north of .500. They’ve been especially hot of late, going 7–2–1 in their last 10 games and riding a five-game winning streak, though it’s not really created any breathing room in the playoff race. Under the hood, though, the numbers suggest this might be a bit of a high-wire act: Boston owns just 48.94 percent of the shot attempts (18th in the league) and a 46.05 percent share of expected goals (28th), indicators that they’re spending more time chasing play than driving it. For now, a friendly PDO is doing some heavy lifting, and in a division this unforgiving, the big question is how long that can last.

Up front, the Bruins’ offense still flows through David Pastrnak, who’s doing most of the heavy lifting at a 1.33 point-per-game pace (57 points in 43 games) that sits inside the league’s top 10. There’s a clear drop after him, but Boston’s top six remains more than serviceable. After Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie (42 in 47, 0.89 PPG) has taken an offensive step forward this season and Elias Lindholm (30 in 38, 0.79) provides structure and two-way reliability down the middle. Pavel Zacha (33 in 47, 0.70) offers steady secondary offense, Viktor Arvidsson (24 in 36, 0.67) brings speed and forechecking pressure, and Casey Mittelstadt (21 in 38, 0.55) adds some creativity off the rush and on the power play. One recent wild card is Marat Khusnutdinov, who’s earned top-six looks recently, including time on the top line, and turned that opportunity into a five-point night (4 G, 1 A) last Saturday.

On the back end, Charlie McAvoy remains the unquestioned leader, producing at a 0.78 point-per-game clip (28 in 36) while handling the toughest minutes and matchups. Hampus Lindholm (14 in 34, 0.41) and Nikita Zadorov (15 in 48, 0.31) have generally been steady from a defensive standpoint, though Lindholm has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury since Jan. 5, forcing some shuffling. Jonathan Aspirot (3 in 28, 0.11) has stepped into Lindholm’s spot with mixed results, with Henri Jokiharju (9 in 31, 0.29) rounding out the Bruins’ top four and providing a relatively low-event, stabilizing presence as the group tries to keep things together.

Considering the Bruins are on a five-game winning streak, they will likely roll the same lines and pairings as they did in their last game against the Seattle Kraken:

Bruins lines at morning skate:

Khusnutdinov-Lindholm-Pastrnak
Mittelstadt-Zacha-Arvidsson
Steeves-Minten-Geekie
Jeannot-Kuraly-Kastelic
Eyssimont, Viel

Aspirot-McAvoy
Zadorov-Jokiharju
Lohrei-Peeke
Kolyachonok-Harris
H. Lindholm (no-contact)

Swayman/Korpisalo

— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) January 15, 2026

The Blackhawks have hit a rough patch of late, dropping three straight games at home and three of their last four overall, though it hasn’t all been uniformly grim. A flu bug making its way through the locker room has clearly played a role, and a few of those losses were at least competitive. Still, the most recent outing, a 3–1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday, felt especially flat, with little push for long stretches. As noted in the recap, it’s probably not worth getting overly hung up on a short run of results, but at some point the Blackhawks will need to dial up the effort level and move past the flu as a catch-all explanation.

The Blackhawks haven’t seen the Bruins since early October, but that first meeting could still be a useful reference point. Boston needed overtime to escape with a 4–3 win in a game that swung back and forth all night, with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky each posting a goal and an assist for Chicago. The standings suggest a sizable gap between these two teams, yet the underlying numbers say it’s not nearly that dramatic. If the Blackhawks can get back to playing closer to their best, especially in terms of pace and engagement, this one has could be another close, uncomfortable game rather than a runaway.

Jeff Blashill says that he expects a game like the Calgary one tonight vs. Boston:

“It'll be a hard game, it'll be a somewhat muddy track, and we're gonna have to be committed to playing that way.”

The Bruins are on a 5-game winning streak and winners in 7 of their last 10

— Kalen Lumpkins (@kalenalumpkins) January 17, 2026

There was a brief scare at morning skate when it appeared Jason Dickinson was injured after leaving the ice early, but coach Jeff Blashill said he still expects Dickinson to play against Boston. Blashill also provided updates on a couple of other players: Teuvo Teravainen (upper-body injury) will miss his second straight game with no timeline for his return, while Frank Nazar could be back in action late next week.

Blashill said he expects Dickinson to play tonight, so bullet dodged there.

No timeline for Teravainen.

Nazar will practice tomorrow. Sounded like it’s possible he could return later next week. https://t.co/JEJtQsuBYq

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 17, 2026

With those player clarifications, the lines and paired at morning skate were unchanged from the game against the Calgary Flames. Arvid Söderblom will be in net.

#Blackhawks morning skate lineup:
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Donato-Moore-Lardis
Dach-Foligno-Slaggert

Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy

Soderblom
Knight

Extra: Lafferty
Out: Teravainen (upper-body)

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 17, 2026

Expect plenty of nostalgia trips during this game as well, with the Blackhawks celebrating the 2010s championship teams all evening.

everything you need to know for tonight's game!👇

💯 | @united pic.twitter.com/k1OyXlN9uO

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 17, 2026