The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks at the United Center. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.
PENGUINS (15-12-9) at BLACKHAWKS (14-17-6)
7 p.m. ET; CHSN, SN-PIT, SNP, SNW, SNE, TVAS
Penguins projected lineup
Rickard Rakell — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Thomas Novak — Justin Brazeau
Ville Koivunen — Ben Kindel — Rutger McGroarty
Connor Dewar — Blake Lizotte — Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak — Kris Letang
Ryan Shea — Jack St. Ivany
Arturs Silovs
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Danton Heinen, Ryan Graves, Connor Clifton, Kevin Hayes
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (upper body), Caleb Jones (lower body), Filip Hallander (blood clot)
Status report
The Penguins held an optional morning skate … Lizotte will be a game-time decision after practicing on Saturday. He’s missed nine games since sustaining an undisclosed injury on Dec. 7 … Malkin, a center, skated on his own Saturday and will miss his 11th straight game.
Latest for THW:
- Penguins Looking for Some New Strategies Heading Into 2026
- Oilers’ Spencer Stastney Is an Upgrade on Brett Kulak
- NHL Morning Recap – December 24, 2025
Blackhawks projected lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi — Jason Dickinson — Landon Slaggert
Teuvo Teravainen — Ryan Donato — Andre Burakovsky
Oliver Moore — Ryan Greene — Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Lardis — Colton Dach — Sam Lafferty
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Matt Grzelcyk — Artyom Levshunov
Wyatt Kaiser — Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: Ethan Del Mastro, Dominic Toninato
Injured: Connor Bedard (upper body), Nick Foligno (hand), Frank Nazar (facial injury)
Status report
The Blackhawks did not hold a morning skate following their 4-3 shootout victory at the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Mikheyev could return after being a scratch for family reasons.
Latest for THW:
- NHL Morning Recap – December 28, 2025
- Soderblom Stops 28, Bertuzzi Scores 2 in Blackhawks’ 4-3 Shootout Win Over Stars
- Projected Lineups for Blackhawks vs Stars – 12/27/25
