The Blackhawks welcome Artemi Panarin and the Blue Jackets back to the United Center for the first time since October 2017. Both teams enter the Saturday night clash trending up and fighting for their postseason aspirations. The Blue Jackets have won four out of their last five games, and the Blackhawks are 8-1-0 in their last nine games.
Columbus is sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 67 points, but are being chased by the Penguins and Hurricanes. Although the Blue Jackets are in the thick of a playoff race in the Eastern Conference, most of the chatter about the team is focused on the future of pending unrestricted free agents Panarin and two-time Vezina trophy winner, Sergei Bobrovsky.