The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action on Saturday night, hitting the road to face the St. Louis Blues in their second preseason game.
After an ugly loss to the Detroit Red Wings earlier this week, the Blackhawks will be looking to put together a stronger showing. That may prove to be an uphill battle, though, as the roster is light on NHL firepower. Chicago will be without several of last season’s top producers — Connor Bedard, Ryan Donato, Teuvo Teräväinen, and Frank Nazar — as well as their top offensive defense prospect, Sam Rinzel.
The Blackhawks’ lines at Saturday’s morning skate were:
Blackhawks' lines tonight at STL:
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 27, 2025
Dach-Greene-Moore
Lardis-Cates-Reichel
Mikheyev-Dickinson-Lafferty
Toninato-Misiak-Hayes
Del Mastro-Murphy
Korchinski-Allan
Grzelcyk-Crevier
Cumby
Knight/Berezhnoy
As that lineup shows, only a handful of veterans are expected to dress — most of them defense-first players. Connor Murphy is the lone established Blackhawks veteran on the back end, though several of the younger defensemen suiting up have logged some NHL games. This group is essentially made up of bubble players looking to make a case for a roster spot out of camp. One other NHL veteran, Matt Grzelcyk, is also in the lineup.
Up front, the veterans are primarily shutdown players: Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, and Sam Lafferty. Lukas Reichel is the only other forward with significant NHL experience, while the rest are prospects and AHL regulars. Among those prospects, the standouts are the top line of Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, and Colton Dach, as well as Nick Lardis skating opposite Reichel on the second line.
Goaltender Spencer Knight is set to make his first appearance in net.
Here are the power-play units the Blackhawks ran at Saturday’s morning skate:
#Blackhawks power-play units for tonight’s preseason game vs. St. Louis:
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 27, 2025
PP1:
Mikheyev
Greene-Dach-Lardis
Grzelcyk
PP2:
Misiak
Reichel-Hayes-Moore
Korchinski
Meanwhile, the Blues have a few more heavy-hitters in their lineup as their preseason ramps up. Saturday marks their third straight home game, and with that comes the first preseason action for several of their stars. Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, and Brayden Schenn headline the forward group, while Cam Fowler and Colton Parayko are slated to make their preseason debuts on the back end.
The Blues will also feature some of their top prospects, including first rounders from their last four drafts: Jimmy Snuggerud (2022), Dalibor Dvorsky (2023), Adam Jiricek (2024), and Justin Carbonneau (2025). And in net, they’ll roll out a legit NHL starter — and noted man-baby — Jordan Binnington.
#stlblues projected morning skate lines (9/27):
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) September 27, 2025
Buchnevich-Thomas-Snuggerud
Neighbours-Schenn-Joseph
Pekarcik-Dvorsky-Carbonneau
Walker-Sundqvist-Luff
Fowler-Parayko
Schueneman-Mailloux
Buchinger-Jiricek
Binnington
Cranley
For Chicago, the challenge will be less about the scoreboard and more about evaluation: which bubble players seize the chance to prove they belong in the conversation for a roster spot?
How to Watch
When: 6 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center, St. Louis
TV: CHSN+ (For people in the Chicagoland area)
Webstream: ESPN+ (This is for people outside of the Chicagoland area)
Radio: WGN 720