The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to reset quickly after a rough opening night in Vegas, and Thursday brings a different kind of test: Utah’s home opener against a Mammoth team that looks built to make noise right away.
Chicago opened its 2026-27 season with a sound defeat to the Golden Knights on Tuesday, the first stop on a three-game road trip. The Blackhawks did settle in as the game went along, but Vegas was clearly the better team. Now they move on to their second road game, and the assignment gets no easier.
Utah enters with real ambition. The Mammoth have the kind of roster that can push for a top-3 finish in the Central Division, with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild all part of that race.
Whether Utah can climb past one of them - or somehow all three - is one of the questions hanging over the season. Their 2025-26 campaign was already a strong one, and they’ve added to it.
At the center of it all is captain Clayton Keller, who remains Utah’s top player. Keller, a Gold Medal winner with Team USA back in February, gives the Mammoth a true cornerstone.
Around him is a growing wave of offense. Nick Schmaltz has long been a proven producer, while Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and Barrett Hayton deepen the attack.
Utah also brought in two veteran forwards over the offseason in Vincent Trochek and Anders Lee. Both arrive with years of leadership experience in New York, and both are expected to help guide a young group that’s trying to take another step.
The blue line is led by Mikhail Sergachev, who brings Stanley Cup pedigree of his own. In net, Karel Vejmelka is projected to start against Chicago.
Based on practice, Utah’s lineup is expected to look like this:
Keller - Schmaltz - Trocheck
Lee - Cooley - Guenther
Crouse - Hayton - McBain
O’Brien/Carcone - Stenlund - Yama/But
Sergachev - Weegar
Schmidt - Marino
Simashev - Peeke
Duda - DeSimone
Vejmelka
Cossa
Chicago, meanwhile, made some notable changes at Wednesday’s practice after the loss in Vegas. The biggest tweak has Patrick Kane skating with Tyler Bertuzzi, with Anton Frondell centering them. Because there is no morning skate before Thursday’s game, those practice combinations are the best guide for now.
The projected Blackhawks lines and pairs are:
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Kane
Teravainen-Kantserov-Lardis
Donato-Nazar-Moore
Smith-Greene-Greenway
Vlasic-Byram
Kaiser-Levshunov
Cole-Rinzel
Soderblom
Knight
For the moment, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro are expected to sit again on defense. If Chicago puts together another performance like Tuesday’s, more changes could follow.
The Blackhawks are also down to 12 healthy forwards on the trip after Andrew Mangiapane returned to Chicago for further evaluation on an injury. That opens the door for Teuvo Teravainen, who is set to get his chance and could stick in the lineup. He appears to be lined up on the second unit with Roman Kantserov and Nick Lardis, a spot that could suit his playmaking style.
Arvid Soderblom is projected to start in goal after Spencer Knight handled Game 1 and faced more than 30 shots. Nothing is official until warmups, though, and that will also be the final check on the lines and defense pairs.
The game will air locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area and on ESPN both locally and nationally. It can also be streamed on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+. Puck drop is set for shortly after 8:30 PM CT.
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