Blackhawks announce a cancellation that ultimately affects their odds at beating the Stars Saturday

On Saturday night, the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks will match up in the American Airlines Center.

For NHL teams, a morning skate is part of keeping fresh and maintaining chemistry between players and ultimately for coaches to iron out issues beforehand.

Well, as a result of the NHL's backwards policies, where teams fly out to their opponents' home rink the day of the game, the Blackhawks have had to cancel their morning skate at Fifth Third Arena, instead prioritizing the road trip to Texas.

They will make the trip to Dallas and will have their first unofficial practice on the ice in 4 days during warmups against a contending team like the Stars.

This could be a bad situation for a team that is missing players like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar due to injury.

This should make the Blackhawks vs. Stars matchup a compelling game, for better or worse.

For a team that has rendered itself a bottom-dweller thanks to the absence of its stars, practice makes perfect, at least that's what you hope for.

The team is 13-17-6 and 8th in the Central Division, a spot not unfamiliar to fans, or some of the team who played here in 2024-25.

Ahead of the matchup, the Blackhawks have recalled an intriguing forward from Rockford.

They will be matching up with the Stars, who are led by Coach Peter DeBoer, with a record of 25-7-6. They'll have to find a way to shut down Jason Robertson, who leads the Stars in goals with 23, and top-six forward Mikko Rantanen, who leads the Stars with 37 assists and 51 points.

The Blackhawks are up for a big test tonight in an important Central Division game against one of the best teams in the league.

Can Jeff Blashill and the team overcome the odds?