Betting HubSharp Action
Barstool BushChronicling the Barstool Universe

Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks

Thu Oct 157:00 PM CTESPN+Chicago, IL
By JR·2 min read
Jets(4-1-1)
Blackhawks(2-5-0)
Thursday 10/157:00 PM

TLDR: Connor Bedard is back, Frank Nazar should be too, and Chicago finally gets to see the lineup it drew up this summer. The first real test comes Thursday, October 15 at the United Center against a Winnipeg team that keeps finding ways to win.

FRI 10/16, 7:00 PMESPN+
Jets
(4-1-1)
WLWWW
Blackhawks
(2-5-0)
WLLWL

Chicago gets Connor Bedard and, per reports, Frank Nazar back together for the first time this season, against a 4-1-1 Winnipeg team that has won mostly by 1 goal behind Stuart Skinner. Whether Josh Morrissey's wrist lets him return to the Jets' blue line, and whether Chicago can stop getting outshot, are the key questions. The board has not opened yet.

Winnipeg Jets
  • Skinner steady in net, stopped 19 of 21 vs Wild
  • Scored last 3 goals to beat Minnesota 5-2
  • Kyle Connor's top line drove the Colorado win
  • Morrissey (wrist) day-to-day, missed Wild game
  • 3 of 4 wins were 1-goal games
  • Hellebuyck on IR, no proven backup plan
Chicago Blackhawks
  • Bedard back, assisted on PP goal in debut
  • Nazar due back from 2-game suspension
  • Depth scoring from Teravainen, Frondell, Bertuzzi
  • Outshot 27-20 even in the Penguins win
  • Dropped 5 of first 6 games
  • Mangiapane on IR

The Blackhawks started 2-5-0, and most of that happened without their best player. Bedard had shoulder surgery after getting hurt skating in the offseason, and Chicago dropped 5 of its first 6 without him. His season debut was a 5-3 win over Pittsburgh where he set up Roman Kantserov's power-play goal in the 1st period. It wasn't a clean win. The Penguins outshot Chicago 27-20, and Teravainen, Frondell and Bertuzzi had to supply the depth scoring that closed it out.

Nazar is the other half of the reunion. He got 2 games for his hit on Islanders captain Bo Horvat in the 4-1 loss on Long Island, and Bleacher Nation has Thursday as the night he comes back. Bedard and Nazar together down the middle is the version of this team Chicago has been waiting for, and with puck drop at 7:00 PM CT it gets its first look at that version against a club sitting near the top of the early standings.

Winnipeg is 4-1-1 and has mostly been winning close games. 3 of its wins were 3-2 scores, against Detroit, Pittsburgh and Colorado, with Kyle Connor's top line driving the Avalanche win. The one blowout went the other way, a 5-1 home loss to Anaheim. Then the Jets beat Minnesota 5-2, scoring the last 3 goals after a 2-2 1st period against a Wild lineup missing bodies and starting backup Calvin Pickard on a back-to-back.

Winnipeg Jets
(4-1-1)
10/14WvsWild5-2
10/10LvsDucks1-5
10/07WvsAvalanche3-2
10/05W@Penguins3-2
10/04W@Red Wings3-2
Chicago Blackhawks
(2-5-0)
10/14WvsPenguins5-3
10/10LvsHurricanes2-5
10/08L@Islanders1-4
10/07WvsBlues4-2
10/03L@Sabres3-4

Stuart Skinner has been the story in net. Connor Hellebuyck is on injured reserve, Skinner has taken the No. 1 job, and he stopped 19 of 21 against the Wild. The defense is the bigger question. Josh Morrissey has a wrist injury, is listed day-to-day, and missed the Minnesota game, and Elias Salomonsson is also on IR. A Jets blue line without its top defenseman, playing against a Chicago center group that just got its 2 best players back, is the matchup to watch.

Chicago is still missing Andrew Mangiapane, who is on IR, and Winnipeg is down Garrett Brown and Walker Duehr up front. Neither team plays again before Thursday, so the lineups that skated in their last games are the best guide, plus Nazar for Chicago and possibly Morrissey for Winnipeg. The Blackhawks have a lot to prove after a bad start. The Jets have a lot of 1-goal wins that could go either way.

Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks — Bedard's Second Night Back Meets a Jets Team Living on 1 Goal | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush