Chicago Blackhawks at Detroit Red Wings | Thursday, October 29, 2026 | 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET | Little Caesars Arena, Detroit | ESPN+
I picked the Hawks to beat the Kings on Tuesday, 3-2. They won 2-1, so I had the winner and was a goal off on the score. More importantly, Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak, and Wyatt Kaiser scored his first goal of the season to break a tie in the third period. After a 3-4-0 homestand, the Hawks are 4-8-0 and head out for a road stretch against a Detroit team that is humming along.
I’ll be honest about how to read a 2-1 win over a Kings team playing the second night of a back-to-back. It was a good result, not a fix. But I’ll take it.
Game Info: Blackhawks at Red Wings
- Date: Thursday, October 29, 2026
- Puck drop: 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET
- Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
- TV: ESPN+ (also Disney+ and Hulu) in the U.S.; SN+ in Canada. Radio in Detroit is WXYT 97.1 FM. I didn’t find a Chicago-area TV listing, so check before the game
- Records: Blackhawks 4-8-0 (8 points), 15th in the West; Red Wings 5-4-3 (13 points), 13th in the East
- Odds: DraftKings had Detroit -180 and Chicago +150 on Thursday morning, per Inside the Rink. That works out to roughly 62% for the Red Wings once you strip out the sportsbook’s margin (my math, not the book’s)
How the Hawks Beat the Kings
Samuel Helenius scored for Los Angeles 2:31 into the game, and Chicago was under pressure early. Roman Kantserov tied it on the power play late in the second period, on a goal assisted by Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen, and Kaiser scored the winner at 7:17 of the third. Spencer Knight made 25 saves on 26 shots.
Second City Hockey’s numbers are worth knowing:
- Shot quality: Chicago had 58 five-on-five attempts but only 24 shots on goal, so the Hawks missed the net far too often. It still had more five-on-five shots on goal than LA, which has happened only twice this season.
- The Moore-Kane-Nazar line had a 74.9% expected-goal share in 8:37 together. Kaiser’s goal came while they were on the ice.
- Lines: The Bedard-Greene-Kantserov trio struggled, and Greene moved to the fourth line with Teravainen swapped in. That group looked better in a small sample, and Second City Hockey suggests the top two lines could change again.
Kantserov leads NHL rookies with five goals, according to NHL.com.
- Injuries: Bowen Byram (upper body) is day-to-day and listed as expected back Thursday, per Inside the Rink. I couldn’t confirm it.
- Projected lines (Inside the Rink): Kantserov-Bedard-Greene, Moore-Nazar-Kane, Bertuzzi-Frondell-Donato and Smith-Greenway-Teravainen, with Vlasic-Cole, Kaiser-Levshunov and Korchinski-Rinzel on defense. Given what the Kings game showed, I’d expect changes.
- Goalies: Knight has started most of the season, with Arvid Soderblom as the backup. I don’t know who starts.
The Red Wings: Winning Through Noise
Detroit is 5-4-3 and has won four of its last six, including a 4-3 shootout win at Edmonton on Monday. The Yahoo preview of this game also mentions Dylan Larkin’s trade request and Simon Edvinsson’s contract stalemate as off-ice distractions. Coach Todd McLellan called the recent turmoil “all the crap” and credited young players for helping the team through it.
- Lucas Raymond has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last six games, and Viktor Arvidsson has six (two goals, four assists).
- Goaltending: John Gibson or Michal Postava starts, and Daniil Tarasov is day-to-day, expected back Thursday. Postava, 24, made his NHL debut on Oct. 22 in Vancouver in relief of Gibson.
- Injuries: Albert Johansson (D) is out until about Oct. 31, Simon Edvinsson (D) is on injured reserve and also expected back Oct. 31, and Mason Appleton and Marco Kasper (both centers) are on injured reserve until about Nov. 12, per Inside the Rink.
- Projected lines: DeBrincat-Finnie-Arvidsson, Brandsegg-Nygård-Larkin-Raymond, Rasmussen-Copp-Compher and Mazur-Danielson-Kolesar, with Chiarot-Seider, Wallinder-Faulk and Englund-Johansson on defense. The page’s lineup lists Johansson even though he’s also listed as out, so confirm the final lineup.
The Matchups That Matter
Detroit’s missing depth on the back end. With Edvinsson and Johansson out and two top centers on IR, the Wings are thinner than the 5-4-3 record suggests. That is a window for the Hawks.
The Moore-Kane-Nazar line. It was the Hawks’ best line against Los Angeles. The question is whether Blashill keeps it together on the road.
Knight against Detroit’s shot volume. Arvidsson himself has a 62.6% Corsi and 78.4 shot attempts for per 60 this season, per Inside the Rink’s numbers. Chicago ranks 31st in shots per game, so Knight is going to be busy.
The power play. Kantserov’s goal on Tuesday was a rare bright spot for a unit that ranks last in the league at 8.3% and went 0-for-7 on Sunday. I’m not ready to call it fixed.
Road fatigue. This is the first game on a long road trip, and the Hawks were 3-4-0 on their last homestand. I’d like to see how they handle a loud arena.
What Actually Decides It
The market says Detroit is the better team, and I can’t argue. The Wings are winning games, they score more and Chicago’s shot numbers are bad. The Hawks’ win over LA was a game they played well, but the Kings were on a back-to-back and the margin was one goal.
The path for Chicago is narrow but real: Knight keeps it close, the Moore-Kane-Nazar line keeps producing and the power play scores once. If that happens, we’re in it in the third period. I just don’t think all three happen against a team that is 5-4-3 and has found its footing.
I’ll take Detroit by a goal, and I’ll be happy to be wrong.
My Honest Final Score Prediction: Detroit Red Wings 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2
The post Blackhawks vs. Red Wings Prediction October 29th: Fresh Off a Win, Back on the Road Against a Detroit Team Playing Its Best Hockey appeared first on UrbanMatter.
