Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings cap off their long road trip by heading to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Blackhawks without star Connor Bedard, who was sidelined after suffering a shoulder injury in Friday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
The 2023 first overall pick has lived up to expectations, recording a stunning 44 points in 31 games this season and ranking third in the NHL in scoring, tied with San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini. Bedard is one of two Blackhawks near or above a point per game during their recent 12-game losing streak and will really be missed against a surging Detroit team.
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THE Red wings seem to be returning to form, even after Thursday’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers which ended a streak of six consecutive games with at least one point. This result sets the stage for an intriguing matchup, especially after the Blackhawks handed Detroit a lopsided 5-1 defeat in their last meeting at Little Caesars Arena, with the Red wings now aims for revenge in Chicago.
Programming scenarios
THE Red wings have faced a two-headed monster all season on their roster with scoring depth issues, running into issues on the back end all season long. One issue seems to have resolved itself lately, while back-end issues continue to persist as the Red wings achieved timely scores throughout their training.
Veterans Andrew Copp and James van Riemsdyk have both found their game as of late, with Copp recording two goals and four assists for six points in his last five games since joining the second line with redshirt forwards Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, on whom Copp has gained some momentum.
The Michigan native has made some great plays over the last few games, such as making excellent passes for assists as well as working as a solid presence on net for the two deadly shooters in DeBrincat and Kane. Former Blue Jackets winger van Riemsdyk has also been sensational of late with six goals in his last eight games.
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At the same time, Detroit has consistently averaged three goals per game since beginning his recent progression with 21 goals allowed in his last seven games. The hope is that they can continue to benefit from the hot hand of starting goaltender John Gibson, who has picked up his game of late with four straight wins and back-to-back stellar starts Saturday with a 39-save shutout against the Vancouver Canucks last Monday, followed by a 34-save effort on the road against the Calgary Flames. If he manages to maintain his current pace and finally exploit this level of play that the Red wings traded last offseason, they might finally have the answer to their debate over who should be the routine starter.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are starting to see their early season momentum, fueled by Bédard’s efforts, slow down, as they have only won three wins in their last 12 games. Their offense has averaged 2.25 goals per game during that span, while the defense has also struggled, allowing 3.67 goals per game, which ranks fifth worst in the NHL.
Without Bédard, the focus will shift to veteran winger Tyler Bertuzzi, who is in the midst of a recent surge with 19 points in his last 16 games. The rest of the roster, however, struggled to produce, with only three players, besides Bédard and Bertuzzi, recording multiple goals during the 12-game slump. THE Red wingsThe surging backend will look to further slow down the Blackhawks offense and secure a much-needed bounce-back victory in this game.
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Goalkeeper Match
Detroit: John Gibson (Season: 8-7-1 record, 3.32 GAA, .884 | VS CHI: 6-10-1 record, 3.48 GAA, .891 SV% in 18 games)
Chicago: Arvid Soderblom (Season: 3-5-1 record, 3.92 GAA, .876 SV% | VS DET: win, 45 saves on 46 shots in one game)
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