Chicago has had a much rougher stretch. The Blackhawks lost 5 straight before beating Buffalo, and the worst of it was a 9-2 loss in Carolina that led to meetings between the coaches, hockey operations and management. Connor Bedard answered the questions about the bench by saying the room has "100 percent belief" in Jeff Blashill. The Buffalo win helped too. Chicago trailed 2-1 after 1 period, kept the Sabres scoreless the rest of the way, and won 3-2 in overtime. Ryan Donato scored the other goal.
Frank Nazar has been Chicago's best reason for hope. He scored twice against Florida in a loss, with Bedard assisting on both, and twice more against Buffalo, including a tip-in that tied the game midway through the 3rd. Chicago needs that second scorer behind Bedard, and the trade talk around the team is about finding Bedard more help. One caveat on the Buffalo win: the Sabres were playing the 2nd night of a back-to-back and had lost 3 straight. The Jets team that shows up Saturday is fully rested and rolling, which is a much tougher test.
The matchup that will probably decide this is Chicago's defense against Winnipeg's top 6. Chicago has been without Bowen Byram (upper body) since he went on IR in early November, and it gave up 5, 5, 4 and 9 goals during the losing streak. Winnipeg just beat a Dallas team missing Miro Heiskanen because the Stars' defense couldn't handle its forwards. The Jets have their own defensive problem with DeMelo's status unclear, so Chicago's best chance is Bedard and Nazar finding room against a depleted Winnipeg blue line. Puck drop is 2:30 PM CT on Saturday, November 14.
