After a mostly successful (3-2-1) road trip, their longest of the 2025-26 season, the Chicago Blackhawks are home. At 8-5-3, Chicago will take on the 11-4-1 New Jersey Devils.
The Blackhawks have won three games in a row. They haven’t won four in a row since winning five in a row back during the 2022-23 season.
Coming off a home loss in overtime, New Jersey is headed on a long road trip of their own, starting in The Windy City.
Number One Picks
This game will feature a lot of high-end talent. Three of the last nine first overall picks will participate in this game. New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier is the oldest, as he was the first overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft. Of course, that draft took place at the United Center.
Two years later, New Jersey selected Jack Hughes with the first overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. Since then, both of them have become catalysts for a winning organization.
In 2023, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Connor Bedard first overall. Like both Hughes and Hischier, it took a while for Bedard’s offensive flair to take off, but we are seeing all three of them dominate games in 2025.
There are also a couple of second overall picks participating in the game. New Jersey selected Simon Nemec second in 2022, while Chicago took Artyom Levshunov second in 2024. Both of them are now starting to realize their NHL potential as the games go on.
Scouting New Jersey
Gritsyuk – Hughes – Mercer
Meier – Hischier – Bratt
Palat – Glass – Noesen
Cotter – Glendening – MacEwen
Siegenthaler – Nemec
Dillon – Hughes
Cholowski – White
Markstrom
New Jersey is making some changes to their top six. Arseny Griitsyuk is moving up to play with Jack Hughes. Jesper Bratt, however, who scores at a point per game pace these days, is swapping lines with Dawson Mercer. They are expecting that to open up more offense in the top six.
Ondrej Palat is a nice veteran, but he is a step behind where he was as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, on the third line, he is in a much more fitting spot for what he brings to the table in 2025.
On defense, New Jersey is dealing with a fair amount of injuries. That includes Dougie Hamilton, who has been a star in the NHL for years. There is a lot of youth on this blue line, but the Blackhawks must be wary of Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes, who can make big-time plays at a moment’s notice.
Jacob Markstrom will start in the net for the New Jersey Devils. Markstrom has had a rough start to the year, being outplayed by his backup, Jake Allen, but every game is one in which he could go back to his former Vezina-nominee form. Traffic in front, smart shot selection, and a hard forecheck will be Chicago’s key to beating him early and often.
Chicago’s Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Starting Goalie
Bertuzzi – Bedard – Burakovsky
Teravainen – Greene – Mikheyev
Moore – Donato –
Dach – Foligno – Lafferty
Vlasic – Rinzel
Grzelcyk – Murphy
Kaiser – Levshunov
Crevier
Knight
This lineup is in flux going into the matchup. For one, Jason Dickinson and Frank Nazar are still missing due to their injuries and will not play.
Andre Burakovsky is a game-time decision. The Blackhawks needed an extra forward in case the answer is no, so they called up Landon Slaggert. If Burakovsky can’t go, Slaggert will fit into that forward group somehow.
Connor Bedard is sure to see a lot of ice with the way this is shaking out. He is on an eight-game point streak, so expect him to come out flying, looking to make it nine in a row.
On defense, they will be dressing seven once again. All seven of them have mostly played well in every game that they go with this strategy.
In goal, Spencer Knight is the expected starter. Knight, so far this season, has been one of the best goalies in the NHL. Their confidence to start him in multiple consecutive games is showing.
How To Watch
The Blackhawks vs Devils match is a national game in the United States. It will be the second game of a doubleheader on TNT. The puck will drop at 8:52 CT.
The 2025 NFL season is in its second half, and candidates for individual awards are beginning to emerge, with Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby revealing who should win the MVP in his eyes.
It’s been a long season for the Silver and Black, with the team at 2-7. As a result, no player or coach on the team is on track to win an individual award. However, that doesn’t mean players like Crosby can’t weigh in on who deserves the MVP honor, and he believes it’s Los Angeles Rams signal-caller Matthew Stafford.
“People are kind of sleeping on Stafford,” Crosby told Jim Gray on this week’s edition of “Let’s Go!” “His name wasn’t coming up as much as we feel it should have for the MVP race.
Then he goes out and gets another win and four breakdown passes. They’re so well-coached, a great quarterback. They’ve got two number-one receivers, a great running back, and a bunch of young, hungry dogs on defense.
“You saw it last [season]—they took Philly right down to the end in the snow in a cold game, and they could have been in the Super Bowl. It just shows they’re continuously getting better. I love that Stafford is starting to get his flowers.”
As for where Stafford stands in the MVP race, Stafford (+300) sits between New England Patriots‘ Drake Maye (+275) and Kansas City Chiefs‘ Patrick Mahomes (+500) as the top three favorites to claim the honor after the action in Week 10, according to DraftKings Sportsbook (via
Sports Illustrated).
Stafford’s success this season with the Rams and potential MVP campaign hits close to home for Crosby, considering the Raiders standout grew up a Detroit Lions fan.
“Growing up a diehard Lions fan, Stafford is one of my favorite players,“ Crosby added. “Being on the podcast with him now feels like a simulation. We’ve faced each other on the field, and you just know when a quarterback is a little different—he’s special. Stafford is definitely in the top five of guys I’ve played against. He’s on a whole different tier.”
In another universe, Stafford would be in Silver and Black. This past offseason, the Raiders were reportedly in talks with the veteran quarterback.
The Athletic reported on February 28
that the Raiders were willing to offer Stafford a two-year contract worth between $90 million and $100 million, which would have averaged $45 million to $50 million per year.
Moreover, the report noted that a second-round pick could have sealed a deal with the Rams if Stafford had chosen to depart. Nonetheless, the veteran would stay in Los Angeles, and Las Vegas would have to pivot to an alternative option, which ended up being trading for Geno Smith.
So far, the Smith has been a disaster for the Raiders, and the front office may be heading back to the drawing board again this upcoming offseason to find a quarterback who can lead the team back to the playoffs and capitalize on Crosby’s prime years.