Great moments are born from great opportunities, and that’s what the Hawks have here tonight. Yeah, I know tonight’s game is not that serious, but any time the Hawks can play spoiler against the St. Louis Blues and keep them from making the playoffs is a big game feel for me. The Hawks will need some help ending the Blues season, as the Knights will need to beat the Oilers in any fashion to clinch a playoff spot and knock out the Blues, and the Western Conference Playoff Field will be set. A Hawks win tonight will also clinch the worst record and the best chances to land the first overall pick for the San Jose Sharks, something that is not a surprise, especially after the trade deadline sells off.

As for the Blues, they come into this one playing pretty decent hockey; they hold a 5-3-2 record over their last 10 games and snapped a 2-game skid when they took down the Ducks last Sunday in a shootout. Robert Thomas has been having a career year, putting up his career bests in goals (24) and points (81); he has also tied his career high in assists (57). The Blues are one of those limbo teams where they aren’t a clear-cut playoff team, but they aren’t bad enough where they will get help with higher draft picks. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, Doug Armstrong will make this summer.

Projected Line Up

Blackhawks lines in practice:

Reichel-Bedard-Kurashev
TJohnson-Athanasiou-Raddysh*
Blackwell-Dickinson-Anderson
Donato-Entwistle-Slaggert
(*Foligno absent today)

Vlasic-Jones
Korchinski-Megna
Tinordi-Zaitsev
Murphy

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 9, 2024

Raddysh and Tinordi draw back into the lineup. Foligno will miss tonight’s game for personal reasons but is expected back for the game on Friday against Nashville. Tinordi fills in as the Hawks sent down Wyatt Kaiser earlier in the week, which seems like a pretty good sign that Murphy will be making his return to the line-up here very soon. Mrazek gets the nod in the net, and he will look to build off his stellar 42-save performance against the Stars.

The season is coming down to its final leg, and the Hawks just have five games remaining. The focus for this team should be just finishing this season strong and building some confidence heading into the summer. Take no extra chances to risk major injuries and just see what the guys can do. There is a great chance for some young kids to really prove they deserve a look next season.

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