Early look The full preview opens on Tuesday 19 January, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks: game preview

Puck drop22 Jan · 8:00 PM ET
VenueUnited Center
All-time meetings242 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Fourteen points apart last season

Vancouver finished last season 32nd in the league on 58 points. Chicago finished 31st on 72.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 243

Across 242 completed games, Chicago lead the head-to-head 124-98-20.

All-time record124-98-20Chicago's record in the series
Meetings played242This is number 243
2025-26 series—
Last 54-1Vancouver
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
6 Mar 2026VAN 6 – CHI 3——VAN
5 Nov 2025CHI 5 – VAN 2——CHI
17 Oct 2025VAN 3 – CHI 2 SO——VAN
15 Mar 2025CHI 2 – VAN 6——VAN
16 Nov 2024CHI 1 – VAN 4——VAN
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateVancouverChicago
17 Oct 20253-2-0 · 6 pts15th2-2-2 · 6 pts18th
5 Nov 20257-8-0 · 14 pts27th6-5-3 · 15 pts19th
6 Mar 202617-30-5 · 39 pts32nd21-23-8 · 50 pts27th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 17 Oct 2025, Vancouver were 15th in the league and Chicago 18th. By 6 Mar 2026 it was 32nd and 27th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Vancouver out-attempted Chicago 176 to 171

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Vancouver Canucks

176 att · 99 on goal · 10 G · 10.1%
Crease29 att · 1 G
Slot53 att · 5 G
Wing62 att · 3 G
Point26 att · 0 G
Neutral zone6 att · 1 G

Chicago Blackhawks

171 att · 84 on goal · 10 G · 11.9%
Crease11 att · 4 G
Slot74 att · 6 G
Wing50 att · 0 G
Point31 att · 0 G
Neutral zone5 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Chicago have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

VancouverChicago
2.44xG for per game2.41
3.15xG against per game3.83
43.6%xG share38.7%
+9.2FinishingGoals minus expected goals−0.7
−5.4GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−1.7

This season: 4 games for Vancouver, 4 for Chicago. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Vancouver

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2723.1%
Power play · 2025-2621.8% · 14th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2768.8%
Penalty kill · 2025-2671.5% · 32nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.3% · 112/227
Drawn · 2026-2713 (3.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2716 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Chicago

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2711.1%
Power play · 2025-2616.9% · 29th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2763.6%
Penalty kill · 2025-2683.6% · 2nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2742.1% · 99/235
Drawn · 2026-279 (2.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2711 (2.75/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
47Paul Cotter44261.50
23Marco Rossi43141.00
16Anton Frondell41341.00
59Tyler Bertuzzi41120.50
91Frank Nazar41120.50
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
17Filip Hronek40551.25
5Tom Willander40330.75
72Alex Vlasic40220.50
6Sam Rinzel31010.33
44Wyatt Kaiser40110.25
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 20 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 20 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Vancouver crease

VAN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 19 Jan

Kevin Lankinen.8243 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx −6.4
Leevi Meriläinen.9432 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Chicago in the last meetings.

Chicago crease

CHI · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 19 Jan

Spencer Knight.8913 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx +0.5
Arvid Soderblom.8131 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx −2.0

No appearances against Vancouver in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.6 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

6 Mar 20269 · VAN 6–3 CHI
5 Nov 20257 · CHI 5–2 VAN
17 Oct 20255 · VAN 3–2 CHI
15 Mar 20258 · CHI 2–6 VAN
16 Nov 20245 · CHI 1–4 VAN

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Vancouver4.754.502.633.85
Chicago2.254.252.603.35

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.6Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings6.8Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

8 on the injury lists

Vancouver · injuries

Akil ThomasUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Filip ChytilShoulderIRReturn8 Oct
Jack ThompsonUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Mackenzie MacEachernUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Thatcher DemkoHipIRReturn21 Dec

Chicago · injuries

Andrew MangiapaneLower BodyOutReturn25 Oct
Connor BedardShoulderIRReturn7 Nov
Teuvo TeravainenUndisclosedOutReturn10 Oct
27 Sep · VAN

Placed G Nikita Tolopilo on waivers.

25 Sep · VAN

Claimed G Leevi Merilainen off waivers from Ottawa. Placed F Filip Chytil on injured reserve. Assigned F Braeden Cootes to Abbotsford (AHL).

24 Sep · VAN

Assigned Fs Ty Mueller, Riley Patterson, Ilya Safonov and Chase Wouters, Ds Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio to Abbotsford (AHL). Loaned F Ben Berard and D Isaac Belliveau to Abbotsford. Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford F Trey Fix-Wolansky and Ds Cole Clayton and Jimmy Schuldt.

3 Oct · CHI

Assigned D Charles Alexis Legault to Chicago (AHL).

24 Sep · CHI

Agreed to terms with F Oliver Moore on a five-year contract extension. Loaned Fs Jiri felcman, Martin Misiak and Marek Vanacker and D Dylan Anhorn to Rockford (AHL). Assigned F Brett Seney to Rockford.

21 Sep · CHI

Placed D Derrick Pouliot on waivers.

Injury report
#3Caleb MalhotraRound 1 · BrantfordC
#24Adam NovotnyRound 1 · PeterboroughLW
#33Brooks RogowskiRound 2 · OshawaC
#41Niklas Aaram-OlsenRound 2 · Orebro Jr.LW
Full draft
#34Xavier VilleneuveRound 2 · Blainville-boisbriandD
#35Ryan RoobroeckRound 2 · NiagaraLW
#66Samu AlalauriRound 3 · Pelicans Jr.D
#194Alexander IvanovRound 7 · Bars KazanD
Full draft

Updated after every final