The Chicago Blackhawks have not had consistent lines in a long time. At practice on Monday, they have made another shake-up.
The Chicago Blackhawks don’t play until Wednesday which means that there are a few days off that they desperately need.
That doesn’t mean that they aren’t practicing though as they prepare to take on a Western Conference elite in the Dallas Stars.
Following a devastating loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon, they would like to bounce back in a big way.
They have already proven that they can skate with an elite team (as they did against the Florida Panthers last week in a victory) and they need to replicate that to have a chance against the Stars.
During Monday’s practice, some new lines were revealed as head coach Luke Richardson has put them in a blender again.
#Blackhawks lines at practice:
Hall-Bedard-Kurashev
Bertuzzi-Donato-Teravainen
Mikheyev-Foligno-Anderson
Maroon-Reichel-Smith*Dickinson is not practicing for maintenance reasons
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 25, 2024
The biggest story here is the fact that Connor Bedard continues to have new projected linemates. He is struggling to score and Luke Richardson is doing everything to get him comfortable at even strength.
As of now, he is skating with Taylor Hall and Philipp Kurashev. This gives Bedard a left-handed shot on both sides. Neither Kurashev nor Hall has met expectations this season either but they can use Bedard to get going as well.
For Hall, he is a former Hart Trophy winner who is still working on his game following a season-long injury last year. He was healthy scratched a couple of games ago and didn’t respond to it well. Now is his chance to make an impact on the top line.
Ryan Donato skated with Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen. Both of those wingers have been cold and could use a boost. Donato is the one forward on this team exceeding expectations so far this year so he is looking to help them.
The third line with Nick Foligno centering Ilya Mikheyev and Joey Anderson could be brilliant. All of them are capable of playing the game hard in all three zones while contributing some offense here and there.
As for the fourth line of Lukas Reichel in the middle of Patrick Maroon and Craig Smith, they can make an impact as well. They were responsible for the 2-0 lead that the Hawks built up against Philly before ultimately letting it go.
One or more of these lines may see a change on Tuesday or Wednesday if Jason Dickinson returns to practice. He hurt his hand and is trying to play through it.
The Blackhawks are saying that he was missing on Monday due to maintenance which means his potential to play on Wednesday is still there.
These lines would all look great if Bedard and his trio got going. If they don’t and the team only has one or two goals again, they will appear to be lackluster combinations again.
