Taking the CTA to United Center, Chicago

CTA Takes you to United Center

It is indeed possible to reach United Center using the CTA. Here is a dedicated webpage from CTA themselves:

Trains

Blue Line

The stadium is just a few blocks north of the Illinois Medical District stop on the CTA Blue Line. The shortest walk is by exiting the station to Damen Avenue (western-most exit) and walk north on Damen to Madison.

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Green and Pink Lines

The stadium is two blocks south and three blocks west of the Ashland/Lake stop on the CTA Green and Pink Lines.

Safety Concerns

Power to the Masses

In terms of safety, there are some mixed opinions on the web (here is one from yahoo answers). I would however assume that many people will be using public transport to move to/from the game. Hence you should be safe seeing as you will never be truly alone. Moreover you shouldn't be wondering around too much since your idea is to get to United Center, see the game, and go back home.

Express Bus

In particular, the dedicated express #19 bus seems to be very interesting to get to the game and back:

Service Description: For all Bulls and Blackhawks games and other selected events at United Center.

• Buses operate from Michigan and Randolph every 10 minutes, starting 90 minutes before event, until start of event.
• Buses operate south on Michigan and west on Madison when heading to United Center.
• After event, buses operate every few minutes for up to one hour.
• No stops are made between Halsted and United Center.

I emphasised the non-stop part, as fewer stops can indeed make the ride safer.

Private Shuttles to/from Restaurants and Bars

Another option could be using a dedicated (private) shuttle. Posts on tripadvisor forums suggest various restaurants offering such services to their patrons. Taking a random one from the list indeed shows the existence of such services.

Just wanted to post a follow up for any other hockey fans (or basketball fans) who come across this.

I ended up driving to United, and as long as you get there an hour before the event, you should be fine with parking. I had been concerned with there being enough shuttle buses, but after we left the arena (we stayed around for a bit) there was still a line of buses waiting to pick people up and take them down to the loop. Not a lot of taxis though.

I can't speak for the subways, as I didn't go towards them, but it looked as though there were a few fans making their way that way. For the most part, seemed like the parking and buses were the most popular (but again, they are both doable).