SITREP: Lardis to Rockford and Previewing the Hawks-Wild Game
Previewing tonight's game against the Minnesota Wild and some thoughts on Nick Lardis' send down.
No morning skate lines to report today. You can read about yesterday's lines here, which features Frank Nazar, Connor Bedard, and Teuvo Teravainen in one line. Nick Lardis was sent to the Rockford IceHogs yesterday, I discuss the move below. There's also a game preview for tonight's game in Minnesota. You can find that at the bottom.
Nick Lardis sent to Rockford
we have assigned Nick Lardis to @goicehogs
📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/fP4AHm60EG pic.twitter.com/LLVVgmXI6o— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 26, 2026
The reason given for Nick Lardis' demotion is that, because the Blackhawks have a surplus of forwards, and now that everyone is healthy, Lardis had to be sent to Rockford. Through 21 games, Lardis averaged 12:39 minutes a night and will see more ice time in Rockford in an elevated role. Although, I'd argue that 12 minutes in the NHL is more valuable than what the AHL offers.
The Rockford IceHogs need help, and I'm sure Lardis will provide that for them. In his time with the Blackhawks, he averaged 13.27 shot attempts per 60 (at 5v5), 5.81 shots on goal per 60 (5v5), and a 5v5 52.15% Corsi—second best on the roster for players with over 10 games played.
Most encouraging was that Lardis was finding areas of the ice to score from. One of the concerns was translating his scoring from junior to pro. Five goals and two assists in 21 games isn't eye-dropping, but when you watch Lardis play, he isn't taking those chances from the perimeter.
While sending Lardis to Rockford ensures he gets icetime over the Olympic break, I'd much rather have him for the five games remaining. Landon Slaggert has looked better in the bottom-six, and I'd keep him there given the role. Lardis could have seen top-six minutes, allowing Slaggert to stay on the roster. So, who gets the boot in that situation? Why not Sam Lafferty?
Blackhawks @ Wild 7 pm CT
The Hawks travel up north to Minnesota to take on one of the best teams in the league. The Minnesota Wild are second in the Western Conference (29-14-10 record with 68 points) and are 4-4-2 in their last 10, having lost their last game in overtime to the Florida Panthers.
While the Wild's metrics aren't eye-popping (26th in Corsi and 17th in expected goals share), they've received excellent goaltending with a 5v5 team save percentage of .923 (third best in the league). Rookie Jesper Wallstedt has posted a .914 SV% through 21 games, and Filip Gustavsson has a .909 SV% through 33 games. Minnesota has one of the league's best forwards in Kirill Kaprisov (28 goals and 64 points) and one of the best defensemen in recently acquired Quinn Hughes (four goals, 48 points).
This one could go either way for the Hawks. If Spencer Knight is in net, he should be able to withstand the lack of firepower Minnesota provides (bottom half of the league in possession metrics). But the Hawks need to be careful with Quinn Hughes on the ice. He shouldn't have an issue creating space and swirling the Hawks' man-on-man defense.
Chicago's new look first line (Nazar-Bedard-Teuvo) will either produce much-needed offense or get stiffled along the boards. With the goaltending that Minnesota deploys, I'm not very confident that the Hawks are going to be able to get much going.