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The Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars faceoff tonight in Chicago, a Central Division clash before Thanksgiving tomorrow.
For the Blackhawks, tonight’s game comes with a sad truth. Few teams that are outside of the playoff picture at Thanksgiving tend to make the playoffs, and right now, the Hawks actually sit in last place across the entire NHL.
The Dallas Stars look like one of the true contenders for the Stanley Cup this year and tonight’s game gives them the opportunity to bounce back from a 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
Blackhawks vs Stars 2024-25 Results:
10/26/2024 L, 4-2 Dallas at American Airlines Center
11/7/2024 L, 3-1 Dallas at American Airlines Center
The Blackhawks and Stars have already met twice this season, with Dallas winning both matchups. Dallas has had their way against the Central so far this season with a 4-1-0 record in divisional games. Chicago is 2-4-1 against their divisional rivals.
Chicago Blackhawks Projected Lines:
Hall – Bedard – Kurashev
Bertuzzi – Donato – Teravainen
Mikheyev – Dickinson – Foligno
Maroon – Reichel – Smith
Vlasic – Murphy
Kaiser – Martinez
Allan – Brodie
Mrazek
(Based on Tuesday’s Practice)
With Thanksgiving tomorrow, these are some pairings Blackhawks fans can be thankful for from Luke Richardson. Bedard is back playing with some more skilled forwards like Hall and Kurashev, and Dickinson is back centering a really impressive shut down line with Foligno and Mikheyev.
Keys to success for the Blackhawks:
In the Blackhawks’ last loss to the Stars, Dallas won 71.4 percent of the faceoffs. Chicago was chasing play throughout the night, with Dallas holding court in the Blackhawks offensive zone outshooting Chicago 40 to 26.
Tonight, the Blackhawks need to be better in the faceoff dot, and that starts on the top line with Connor Bedard.
Players to Watch:
Alex Vlasic has played his way into consideration for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Vlasic has stepped up in the absence of Seth Jones and has become one of the top shutdown defenseman not just in Chicago, but across the NHL. With just a few games left before the 4 Nations Face-Off roster is announced, this is a big game for Vlasic to boost his resume.
More must-reads:
- 25 great NHL teams that somehow didn't win the Stanley Cup
- Mets to promote top pitching prospect for MLB debut
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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Arbitrator ruling in favor of Flyers over grievance from veteran center, whose NHL career may be over
An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers in a grievance filed by veteran centerman Ryan Johansen, over the team’s termination of his contract prior to the 2024-25 season, shares TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Flyers acquired Johansen alongside a conditional 2025 first-round pick at the 2024 trade deadline, in exchange for sending defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia placed Johansen on waivers immediately after the trade, with the intentions of assigning him to the AHL and potentially flipping him before the deadline. When no trade manifested, Johansen refused to report to the minor leagues, instead claiming that he was limited by a nagging hip injury. The NHL sided with Johansen and reversed his AHL assignment after a failed physical exam. Johansen spent the remainder of the 2023-24 season on injured reserve. There was a clear wedge between him and the Flyers’ top brass — one that only rooted deeper as the 2024 summer went on. By August, Philadelphia decided to place Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination — citing the player’s delay in notifying them of the injury, and failure to pass physicals or report to his assignment. Johansen passed through waivers and became an unrestricted-free agent. He filed a grievance with the NHLPA soon after, claiming the Flyers had wrongly terminated his contract. Now, a full year later, it seems the NHL will side with Philadelphia in their handling of the situation. The implications of this decision aren’t immediately clear. Johansen had one year remaining on an eight-year, $64M contract originally signed with the Nashville Predators in 2017 — though Philadelphia was only due $4M in cap hit, after Nashville retained half of the contract when they traded Johansen to Colorado. The range of outcomes seems far-reaching — from Philadelphia being due that full $4M price tag, to a settlement with the player, to no cap implications on the team’s side at all. Details on the exact impact against the Flyers will likely be revealed in the coming days. The NHL’s last contract termination to reach headlines over a material breach came in 2015, when the Los Angeles Kings terminated forward Mike Richards’ contract with five years remaining. He was still due $22M on the deal. Richards also filed a grievance with the NHLPA, and would end up settling with the team for an undisclosed amount before becoming a free agent. He signed for one season with the Washington Capitals following the dispute, but would retire from hockey in 2016. It seems less likely that Johansen will return to the NHL. His play gradually dwindled throughout the 2020s — falling from 63 points in the 2021-22 season to just 23 points in 2023-24. He slowed down in all aspects, likely due to what was proved to be a very real and long-running hip injury. That slow-down pushed Johansen to Colorado’s fourth-line in his final few games with the team. With a decision in place on his grievance with the Flyers, he would realistically have time to sign a short contract, or tryout agreement, before the 2025-26 season. But those chances hinge on the 33-year-old’s recovery, and willingness to return, after a full season away from the league. If he does call his career to a close, the former fourth overall selection will finish with 578 points in 905 games in the NHL.
Oregon suspends former five-star WR recruit indefinitely
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, Calif., in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Jordan Love's thumb surgery comes at inopportune time for Packers
The Green Bay Packers have a cause for concern with Jordan Love in the preseason. The quarterback suffered a thumb injury during the Packers' 30-10 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday. Love went 1-of-5 passing for seven yards and took a sack for -3 yards in the defeat. Both of his drives ended in punts. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Love is set to have surgery on his thumb after seeing how it held up at practice on Monday. General manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. "Gutekunst sounded adamant that Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Lions," Schneidman wrote. "Hit his left hand on a helmet on that half-scramble vs. Jets. Wanted to see how it felt at practice yesterday and decided to get it fixed to avoid future issues. Will be with team in Indianapolis. "Brian Gutekunst says Jordan Love is having a procedure done on his left thumb. It’s a 'ligament thing.' Hurt it in the preseason opener. Gutekunst hopes he returns to practice next week." The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Packers. Love and the majority of his receivers have not been in sync during training camp and in the preseason game. Like last season, Packers' receivers have dropped passes during practices and did so in the preseason opener against the Jets. Green Bay needs Love on the field, gaining chemistry with his pass-catching targets, including first-round pick Matthew Golden, before it plays the Lions.
Milwaukee Brewers Force Paul Skenes Into Unfiltered Admission About Brew Crew After 14-0 Beatdown
Najee Harris may have role reduced after fireworks accident
Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris still has yet to return to action after a July 4 fireworks accident, and it sounds like he does not necessarily have a job guaranteed to him when he does. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman admitted Tuesday that the team is planning a steady rotation at running back whether or not Harris is available to play in Week 1. First-round draft pick Omarion Hampton, however, is the player who has part of the rotation locked down, not Harris. The Chargers likely intended to use Harris as a part-time back no matter what. However, he certainly cannot have helped himself with his eye injury. The issue was described as superficial after it happened and Harris was expected to be ready for the season, but he is still on the non-football injury list and has yet to participate in a full practice. Harris, 27, is entering his first season with the Chargers after signing with them in March. He can earn up to $9.25 million on his one-year deal, but that will require him to remain part of the rotation with Hampton.
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