The Chicago Blackhawks were on the ice for practice in Tampa Bay on Wednesday, ahead of their matchup the following evening against the Lightning. The Hawks will be looking for their fourth win in a five-game stretch when head coach Jeff Blashill faces off with his old boss, Jon Cooper, on Thursday. Blashill spent the past three seasons working as an assistant coach with the Lightning under Cooper.
“Nothing,” Blashill said jokingly when asked about what he learned during his time with Cooper. “I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. When you get into a setting like they have [in Tampa Bay], you get a chance not to just learn from Cooper, but also from the great coaching staff that he has. From the great players that are on the team. Cooper does a really good job of delegating and utilizing his staff… that allowed him to focus on what’s most important. That’s the relationship and communication with the players, so it was a good opportunity and reminder for me.”
“Our No. 1 job is to get the most out of our players, and the way to do that ultimately is to build relationships, hold them accountable, and be in the fight with them. I think Cooper does that as well as anyone in the league.”
When Blashill makes his return to Tampa Bay and squares off with Cooper for the first time as Chicago’s head coach, he could be without two key forwards in the lineup.
Jason Dickinson, who missed Sunday’s 2-1 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks, participated in some drills during Wednesday’s practice session. However, Blashill confirmed that Dickinson will likely be out of the lineup again versus the Lightning on Thursday. That would be the third time in the opening eight games that Dickinson has been out due to a nagging injury.
“I don’t expect Dickinson tomorrow,” Blashill said. “I would anticipate that Sunday [against Los Angeles] would be a better opportunity for him. We’ll take it day to day.”
The Blackhawks were also without forward Andre Burakovsky for practice, but it’s not due to an injury. Burakovsky and his wife, Johanna, welcomed their second child, Lily, on Monday. That would explain Andre’s absence, both in Tampa Bay on Wednesday, and when he missed practice on Monday in Chicago.
Andre Burakovsky’s wife posted on Instagram that they welcomed their second child on Monday. That’s probably why he’s away from the Blackhawks right now: pic.twitter.com/KJEPdG1F2n
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 22, 2025
It’s currently unknown if Burakovsky will travel down to Florida and join his teammates for Thursday night’s contest. If he doesn’t make the trip, that would open up a spot on the top line with Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi, which Burakovsky filled in Sunday’s win.
During practice on Wednesday, it was Lukas Reichel who skated with Bedard and Bertuzzi in place of Burakovsky. Should Burakovsky be out of the lineup for the first time this season, Reichel would provide a natural fit, considering his speed and offensive-minded nature. Reichel also performed well in last Wednesday’s dominant 8-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues, where he generated a goal and an assist while skating with Bedard. Blashill regularly gives Bedard extra shifts with the fourth line when utilizing an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup.
With Dickinson set to miss his third game of the season, the Blackhawks are expected keep the third line of Colton Dach, Ryan Greene, and Ryan Donato together for the second consecutive game.
Teuvo Teravainen, Frank Nazar, and Ilya Mikheyev, which served as the second line against Anaheim, remained together at practice.
Blackhawks lines in practice in Tampa:
Reichel-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Teravainen-Nazar-Mikheyev
Dach-Greene-Donato
Slaggert-Foligno-Lafferty
Vlasic-Rinzel
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-Murphy
Dickinson*-Crevier
Knight/Soderblom
*Dickinson filling in as a D
Burakovsky absent
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 22, 2025
It’s also been great to have captain Nick Foligno back with the team after missing three games while on a leave of absence. Foligno provided a very positive update on his daughter, Milana, who recently had to undergo a follow-up surgery related to her congenital heart disease.
Foligno will likely return to the lineup on the team’s fourth line against the Lightning. Landon Slaggert, who made his season debut on Sunday, probably has the edge over Sam Lafferty to serve as the 11th forward. Blashill has dressed only 11 forwards in each of the past four games, with Lafferty being healthy scratched in all of them.
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