Blackhawks Take First Win on Road to Face St. Louis Blues

The Chicago Blackhawks enter Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues with their first win of the season in hand after defeating the Utah Mammoth 3-1 at the United Center.

The victory ended a 0-3-1 start that included narrow losses to the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. That early stretch left the team searching for consistency before Ilya Mikheyev scored twice and Andre Burakovsky delivered the game-winner in his 700th NHL appearance. The result gave new head coach Jeff Blashill his first win behind the Chicago bench.

Recent Form and Key Contributors

Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teravainen lead Chicago with five points each through four games. Nazar’s point streak ended Monday, while Teravainen recorded an assist on Mikheyev’s empty-net goal and now has three assists in his last two contests. The Blackhawks managed just 14 shots in the win, underscoring the need for improved offensive volume on the road.

St. Louis rebounded from an opening 5-0 defeat to Minnesota by winning its next two games against Calgary and Vancouver. Jimmy Snuggerud scored his first two goals of the season in the 5-2 victory over the Canucks and shares the team lead in points with Jake Neighbors. Captain Nick Foligno will miss the game while on leave of absence, leaving Chicago to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second straight contest.

Projected Lineups and Goaltending

Chicago is expected to feature Colton Dach centering Connor Bedard and Burakovsky up front, with Teravainen between Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi on the second line. Ryan Donato, Jason Dickinson and Mikheyev form the third trio, while Lukas Reichel and Ryan Greene slot into the fourth line. Defensemen Alex Vlasic and Sam Rinzel are set to pair, with Matt Grzelcyk alongside Connor Murphy and Wyatt Kaiser with Louis Crevier. Artyom Levshunov rounds out the blue line. Sam Lafferty is the lone forward listed as scratched, while Joey Anderson, Laurent Brossoit and Landon Slaggert remain sidelined.

St. Louis counters with Jake Neighbors centering Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, Dylan Holloway between Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou, and Mathieu Joseph with Pius Suter and Snuggerud. Alexander Texier, Nick Bjugstad and Nathan Walker form the fourth line. On defense, Cam Fowler pairs with Colton Parayko, Tommy Tucker with Justin Faulk and Philip Broberg with Logan Mailloux. Matthew Kessel is the only defenseman scratched.

Arvid Soderblom draws the start in net for Chicago after an overtime loss to Boston, while Joel Hofer gets the nod for St. Louis in his second appearance of the season. The puck drops at 8:30 p.m. CT at Enterprise Center. Chicago Hockey Now provided the preview details.