RECAP
The Blackhawks fell 3-0 to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday evening at Bridgestone Arena ... Connor Murphy posted a team-high four hits ... Alex Vlasic led all Blackhawks skaters with 23:02 of ice time ... Nikita Zaitsev led all skaters with five blocked shots ... As a team, Chicago notched 25 blocked shots to Nashville’s 11 blocked shots ... Brett Seney made his season debut.
VS. NEW YORK
The Blackhawks are 6-3-0 in their last nine games at Madison Square Garden ... A former Ranger, Colin Blackwell posted career highs in goals (12), assists (10) and points (22) in 47 games with New York during the 2020-21 season ... During their last meeting at MSG, Reese Johnson found the back of the net, while Jason Dickinson and Boris Katchouk each added one assist ... Petr Mrazek made 21 saves during a 5-2 victory over the Rangers on Dec. 3, 2022.
MURPH’S GREATEST HITS
Against the Predators, blueliner Connor Murphy led Chicago skaters with four hits and now shares first on the team with 82 hits in 37 games on the year ... Murphy also ranks eighth among all NHL skaters with 93 blocked shots this year.
MEGNA-TRON
On Wednesday afternoon, the Blackhawks claimed defenseman Jaycob Megna off waivers from the Seattle Kraken ... Megna has tallied 25 points (4G, 21A) in 141 career NHL games ... He has buried one goal in six career games against the Blackhawks.
BACK-TO-BACK
On Tuesday afternoon, Blackhawks rookie forward Connor Bedard was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for December after leading all league rookies with 10 assists and 15 points in 15 games ... His five goals also shared second among all league first years. Bedard recorded a career-long five-game point streak (3G, 5A) from Dec. 17-27, the longest streak of any rookie in December ... It’s the second-straight month that Bedard has earned the award.
STARS AND STRIPES
Four Blackhawks prospects have advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships ... Gavin Hayes, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar III and Sam Rinzel each helped Team USA to a 7-2 victory over Latvia in the Quarterfinals on Tuesday morning ... Moore posted two points (1G, 1A) ... USA will face Finland on Thursday morning in Gothenburg.
