The Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at the United Center on Friday, Jan. 30 for what they hoped would snap their four-game losing streak. But they had a tall task ahead of them. The Blue Jackets recently appointed a new head coach, Rick Bowness, in an effort to resurrect their season. In eight games since Bowness took the helm on Jan. 12, Columbus has won seven of them. Including this one.
The Blackhawks certainly played better than the contest the night before (Jan. 30) where their second period meltdown led to a 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But back-to-back games have been a bone of contention for this young team, and the Blue Jackets were simply too much for them. Let’s get to the notes and takeaways.
Blackhawks Lines & Pairings vs. Blue Jackets
Frank Nazar – Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Teuvo Teravainen – Ryan Greene – Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Donato – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert – Oliver Moore – Sam Lafferty
Alex Vlasic – Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser – Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk – Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight/Arvid Soderblom
Scratches: Colton Dach, Artyom Levshunov, Nick Foligno (undisclosed injury)
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On defense, Sam Rinzel was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs and drew in for Artyom Levshunov.
At forward, Nick Foligno did not play (undisclosed injury) and the lines had a little bit different look. Tyler Bertuzzi was deployed on the top line with Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. Ryan Greene moved back to center, deployed on the second line. Ryan Donato took Bertuzzi’s place on the third line, and Oliver Moore centered the fourth line that included Sam Lafferty drawing in for the first time since Jan. 19.
Spencer Knight got the nod in net.
Rinzel In, Levshunov Out
It’s no secret young defenseman Levshunov has been struggling of late. In the Blackhawks’ contest against the Penguins on Thursday night, the 20-year-old was on the ice for five goals against, and his routes and defensive positioning were questionable at best. Which is why it came as no surprise when the Blackhawks recalled Sam Rinzel from the Rockford IceHogs on Friday (Jan. 30).
When asked about it before the game, head coach Jeff Blashill said he felt Levshunov needed a reset. He doesn’t want to send him down to Rockford to play more games; instead he wants him to work on some foundational things.
For me, it’s puck play. He’s a guy who is really, really, really strong. So just learning how to absorb contact and take that extra split second to make the right play. When you’ve got that kind of strength, I think the puck should always be delivered in the right spot, and that right spot might just be a punt, but still never out of panic. And then just learning to continue to move his feet with the puck and do that. I think some just defensive kind of fundamentals with footwork and body position, and then continue to work on that shooting technique. So we’re trying to narrow the focus to three different, three areas that are fairly specific, and we’ll go to work at it.
For Rinzel’s part, he did an admirable job in his first game back with the Blackhawks (he played in 28 games earlier in the season before being sent down on Dec. 8). The Minnesota native registered three shots on goal, four shot attempts, and four blocked shots in 22:18 minutes of ice time; 2:55 of which was quarterbacking the top power play unit.
Blashill said he had a good impact with skating and moving the puck, and he made “less big errors than when he left.” Rinzel seems to feel he’s gained more confidence from his stint in Rockford.
A big part is kind of the defensive aspect of the game. Part of it’s realizing that 90% of the game is just 50-50 shifts … Nothing has to be flashy or crazy. Just learning to to play with my brain and to kind of use my brain to beat guys and whatever it may be … I think my defensive game is actually growing a lot, just kind of the awareness side of it, and kind of the D zone side of it, just kind of not letting pucks get through me.
Young Blackhawks Hitting a Wall
The Blackhawks have now lost five games in a row, which can certainly be considered a slump. Blashill was asked pregame if he felt some of the young players especially were hitting a mental and physical wall.
Definitely, it’s more than most these guys have played in their lives. Specifically, with the intensity level with which it starts to heat up. Teams right now, there’s so many teams that are either on the bubble, one way the other, it feels like not playoff intensity, but like that. And so the games just continue to ramp up. And so you have to have that level every night. We’ve got a bunch of young guys that are just, at times they’re thriving. At times they’re surviving, and it’s just the reality of it. It’s all part of the trial by fire. And I think, as I’ve said to all those guys, it’s okay to make mistakes. We just got to keep learning from them. Along the way, sometimes that makes for tough nights.
Well, the last two contests were definitely tough nights for the Blackhawks. They lost five games in a row in late November and then six consecutive contests in December. With two more games to go before the Olympic break, hopefully this losing streak will stop at just five games.
Bedard & Nazar’s Chemistry
Moving on to more positive things, Bedard and Nazar have now been deployed together on the top line for the last three contests. In that time, they’ve shown some immediate chemistry together.
In the game versus the Minnesota Wild on Jan. Jan. 27, Bedard logged eight shots on goal and 11 shots attempts. Nazar had four shots on goal. Teuvo Teravainen scored when Bedard and Nazar were on the ice, with Bedard registering an assist on the goal.
In the contest against the Penguins, Bedard logged four shots on goal and even shot attempts. His goal on the night was assisted by Nazar.
Against the Blue Jackets, Bedard contributed a goal and an assist; the assist being on a goal from Nazar. Nazar also registered four shots on net and seven shot attempts.
Friday Night 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗞 🤩 pic.twitter.com/dLaiU64ViU
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 31, 2026
Neither Bedard nor Nazar will be pointing to any of this while they’re on a five-game losing skid. As a matter of fact, Bedard was extremely upset postgame about his missed opportunity late in the third period.
That said, the two most dynamic young players with the Blackhawks look extremely dangerous when deployed together. Hopefully they can continue to build on it.
Other Notes From Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets
- A few Blackhawks celebrated some milestones on this night. Ilya Mikheyev skated in his 400th game, while both Teravainen and Connor Murphy suited up for their 800th game.
- The power play continues to be in a big slump for the Blackhawks. They were 0-for-2 in this game, and are now 0-for-26 in the last 10 games.
- The penalty kill was on a streak where they killed 13 penalties in the last six games. But that streak was broken with a power play goal by the Blue Jackets in the first period of this contest.
- With seven defensemen available now that Rinzel has been called up, Coach Blashill did indicate they would consider an 11 forwards/seven defensemen lineup again. The Blackhawks had a lot of success with this unconventional deployment at the beginning of the season, as a tactic to shelter their young defensemen.
Related – Blackhawks’ Special Teams Are a Tale of Opposites Headed Into the Olympic Break
The Blackhawks have two more games before the Olympic break, hosting Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks on Monday, Feb. 2. They’ll then head to Columbus for a rematch against the Blue Jackets.
