Bedard leads Blackhawks into Ducks finale with confidence high

With a chance to run the season series clean, Chicago leans on Connor Bedard and a re-shuffled forward group to carry momentum.

Teuvo Teravainen returns after a ugly injury suffered against the LA Kings last game.

Chicago enters the game with a 12-10-6 record. Bedard, the club's points leader with 39, sits atop goals (18) and assists (27) as well.

The projected top line again features Ryan Greene and Andre Burakovsky flanking Bedard; that trio has shown flashes of creating real pressure.

That said, the Blackhawks come limping in after a rough 6-0 shutout to the Los Angeles Kings. Chicago looked lifeless after the first period and folded under pressure in the final 40 minutes.

Bedard has torched Anaheim this season - 16 points across two games vs. the Ducks, more than he's scored against any single opponent so far.

He's not alone; the Blackhawks shuffled the bottom lines, inserting Sam Lafferty and bumping Ryan Donato to third.

On defense, the pairing of Alex Vlasic with Artyom Levshunov suggests Chicago is trying to get steady through the neutral zone and limit odd-man rushes.

On the other end, Anaheim expects to send Ville Husso into goal. With their top options injured, Husso's record isn't pretty, but he gets yet another tough assignment against a motivated Blackhawks attack.

If Chicago finds some discipline and competes hard in the defensive zones, Bedard and company could make this trip worthwhile. It's not just about breaking even - it's about showing the kind of character this young crew needs as the schedule tightens.