Blackhawks And Bulls End Their Lengthy Losing Streaks

GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

The calendar flipping to March always feels so sweet. The weather warms up, March Madness is on its way, and the whole summer is ahead of us. The Bulls and Blackhawks even won a game yesterday!!! Plus, how cool does PCA look at Spring Training:

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - PREDATORS 4 BLACKHAWKS 2

BACK ON THE STARTING BLOCK

• Hawks looked sloppy after the break but let a 2-1 lead slip away in a winnable game

• Connor Bedard (1 goal, 5 shots) was electric and had a ton of great chances

• Turnovers by Frank Nazar and Artyom Levshunov directly led to Predators goals

L - AVALANCHE 3 BLACKHAWKS 1

POST ALTITUDE

• Jason Dickinson hit the post 22 seconds into the game, Bedard hit the post later on, and the Hawks barely missed on multiple chances against the league’s best team

• Spencer Knight saved 32 of 34 shots to keep the Hawks in the game as they were outshot 35-15

• Hawks killed off all 4 Avalanche power plays

W - BLACKHAWKS 4 MAMMOTH 0

THE SODIE SHUTOUT

• Arvid Soderblom earned his first career shutout with 22 saves

• Jeff Blashill’s system adjustments during the Olympics break finally paid off as the Hawks completely shut down the Mammoth attack

• Teuvo Teravainen scored 2 goals, and Nick Foligno scored his 250th career goal

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Connor Bedard

2 goals (2 points) on 12 shots

Remember that hot streak he was going to have after Team Canada didn’t send him an invite?

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Connor Bedard goal

Ilya Mikheyev reportedly was offered a contract extension by the Blackhawks but couldn’t come to an agreement. He may end up getting traded this week, even though the team clearly values his game, especially his shutdown play on the penalty kill.

With the trade deadline approaching, it’s widely believed the Hawks will trade a couple veterans to clear roster spots for young players like Anton Frondell, Sacha Boisvert, or others

Sam Rinzel missed the last 2 games due to illness

Artyom Levshunov looks improved after his mental reset!

NHL Trade Deadline ➡️ This Friday!

SCHEDULE 📅 T/F/SUN

CHICAGO BULLS

L - HORNETS 131 BULLS 99

SUB-ZERO RETURNS

• Coby White scored 10 points off the bench in his first game against the Bulls

• Hornets dominated the 3rd quarter 42-16 to put the Bulls away

• Matas Buzelis scored a career-high 32 points on 13/19 shooting

L - TRAIL BLAZERS 121 BULLS 112

DRAFT DEAD AHEAD

• Bulls made it close but ultimately lost an important draft-positioning game (they own the Blazers’ 1st round pick that is Top 14 protected)

• 22 turnovers killed the Bulls as both teams were dreadful from 3PT (Blazers: 22%, Bulls: 30%)

• 7 Bulls in their 9-man rotation scored in double figures

W - BULLS 120 BUCKS 97

4TH QUARTER BULLS

• With Ben Johnson in the house, the Bulls went on a fitting 27-0 run in the 2nd half for an amazing Bears-like comeback

• Bucks shot 37% FG, 28% 3PT, and only scored 8 points in the entire 4th quarter as the new look Bulls finally played some defense

• Leonard Miller scored a career-high 15 points on 6/8 shooting

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Matas Buzelis

24.0p/7.0r/3.0a per game

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Josh Giddey alley-oop to Nick Richards

Anfernee Simons’ supposed wrist sprain was actually confirmed to be an old wrist fracture that has flared up from time to time this season

Jalen Smith (calf strain) and Patrick Williams (quad strain) were out all week

Bulls officially finished a winless February (0-11) before breaking the 11-game losing streak to start March

Talk about a strange photo that looks like AI:

SCHEDULE 📅 T/TH/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

NFL COMBINE

• Bears believe they could still receive two 3rd round picks for losing Ian Cunningham to the Falcons

• Ryan Poles confirmed that teams are calling about trading for Tyson Bagent

• It’s clear Poles will have to shuffle some players around to get under the salary cap and still improve the roster. He was very non-committal about DJ Moore remaining on the team moving forward 😔

• Tremaine Edmunds was given permission to seek a trade. All signs point to his release if the Bears don’t find a trade partner.

• The Vikings are looking at all QB options next season, including Tua Tagovailoa and Geno Smith…thank you, Minnesota, for being a joke when the rest of the division is insanely tough!

NFL Players' Association report cards were released, and the Bears earned an A- or A for head coach, GM, and owner!!! First time ever?!?

2026 Salary Cap will officially be $301.2M, which leaves the Bears approximately $11M over the cap, according to Spotrac

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

SPRING TRAINING

• Justin Steele was officially cleared by doctors and is 100%! He is still on track for a May or June return to the rotation.

• Tyler Austin had knee surgery and will be out for months...there goes the righty DH/bench bat they just signed

• Jordan Wicks has left forearm inflammation and had to back off his throwing program

• Alex Bregman hit his first (Spring Training) HR as a Cub yesterday! He and Dylan Carlson are both 5-for-11 to start the Spring

• Edward Cabrera looked great in his first appearance! (2.0 IP, 3 K)

• Jefferson Rojas has been obliterating the baseball (1.014 OPS)

Signed OF Michael Conforto to a minor league contract

• Another contender in the 4th outfielder contest!

• Struggled with the Dodgers last season (.637 OPS)

• Started his career with the Mets and was a very good player in his 7 seasons there (.824 OPS, 132 HR)

World Baseball Classic starts on Wednesday! USA plays Friday night!

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Matas Buzelis

Buzelis was practically speechless in a postgame interview after the Bulls were beat down by the Hornets 131-99. Nothing matters to him more than winning as a team, and he’s the right guy to make that happen. He’s obsessed with the game, and his own achievements or milestones take a backseat. Read more here:

MILD TAKE

The Blackhawks’ trade returns won’t matter this week.

Veterans with expiring contracts are always desired by contending teams, but their value is capped.

Whether it’s Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, Connor Murphy, or Nick Foligno, the Hawks’ return won’t feel too great. They’ll get a mid-round draft pick and move on with their season. The market sets itself, and Kyle Davidson has shown over the years that he is a solid negotiator with other front offices. He won’t mess it up, even if they don’t receive much for these players.

They already have 2 1st round draft picks and 3 2nd round draft picks in the upcoming NHL Draft.

So why even make the trades? Well, the team isn’t close to the playoffs anymore, and prospects may sign with the team to finish out the year. If they join the Hawks, they need time on the ice.

Anton Frondell is a potential future first-liner next to Connor Bedard. Nick Lardis could come back up. Sacha Boisvert is a force to be reckoned with at center. Even the defensemen group of Rinzel, Korchinski, and others need an extra spot opened up to get more consistent playing time.

This year doesn’t matter. Again. Keep bringing in the kids and looking forward to the future.

HITTING THE LINKS

Wayne Drehs - Cubs fan favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of baseball’s most exciting young talents — and his own biggest critic. (Chicago Magazine)

Scott Powers - What I’ll be watching for the remainder of this Blackhawks season: 10 storylines (The Athletic)

Patrick Mooney - Catching up with Nico Hoerner, the glue guy who holds the Cubs together (The Athletic)

Ben Pope - Blackhawks noticing Gavin McKenna's rapid growth as 2026 NHL Draft creeps closer (Chicago Sun-Times)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Get ready to update your Blackhawks draft pick boards this week!