Happy Halloween, Blackhawks fans! Let’s hope tonight’s late game in San Jose turns out to be less frightening than expected, despite the teams’ records. The Blackhawks enjoyed a win in their first matchup this season during Chicago’s home opener. Make sure to grab some candy to keep you energized until puck drop!
As it’s Halloween, here’s a nostalgic throwback to a fun commercial featuring Blackhawks forward Pat Maroon.
A quick injury update: Coach Luke Richardson mentioned that Alec Martinez and Laurent Brossoit won’t be traveling with the team. The earliest we might see them in action could be next Wednesday against Detroit at the United Center. This also means Arvid Söderblom is likely to start one of the games in California this weekend, with matchups on Saturday in LA and Sunday in Anaheim.
If you have around 25 minutes to spare, check out a great interview with Connor Bedard, where he discusses his approach to the game and other topics.
On the subject of Bedard, he’s one of the highlighted players in the new NHL collaboration with lululemon, alongside Seth Jones. The collection launched earlier this week and seems to be very popular among fans.
Richardson praised the fourth line, especially Lukas Reichel’s performance, which is encouraging for his development this season. He’s been showing confidence and good skating in practice.
For those seeking spooky content, Ben Pope analyzed T.J. Brodie’s defensive struggles, particularly in puck battles.
The Blackhawks are facing San Jose tonight without Matt Benning, who was traded to Toronto in exchange for defenseman Timothy Liljegren, along with future draft picks. It’s unlikely that Liljegren will have his visa sorted in time to play tonight, but we’ll keep an eye on that.
Interestingly, Liljegren, a 25-year-old, was traded with Benning and two picks. The Leafs had been trying to move him since last season’s trade deadline. He has a $3M cap hit for two more years.
As for Benning, at 30, he hasn’t scored more than one goal in a season since 2018-19. He is under contract for two more years with a $1.25M cap hit, and both players involved in the trade are right-handed defensemen.
Also worth noting is the accumulating injury list for the Avalanche: Ross Colton will be out 6-8 weeks with a broken foot, while Miles Wood is sidelined for 7-10 days with an upper-body injury. Artturi Lehkonen is also likely to miss some time as he may need further contact before returning to play.
