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Chicago Blackhawks (29-15-2) at Pittsburgh Penguins (26-12-7) 8:30PM Eastern/7:30 Central NBCSN
THE BUZZ
The Hawks got a hugely needed win against the made-to-order Arizona Coyotes last night. Just in time for tonight’s matchup against the Pens at Consol Arena, which, even though Pittsburgh is banged up a bit, poses a much tougher test. It’s a marquee matchup for the NHL, with arguably the game’s two best players going head to head, and a number of other major stars involved.
Joel Quenneville juggled the lines and pairings last night and got the results he wanted. Teuvo Teravainen (1,1) settled in nicely between Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw. In some ways, an engaged Bickell and Shaw are the perfect linemates for the young Finn right now. Both can finish, create space and basically keep opposing players honest around Teravainen. Patrick Sharp seemed to ignite Brad Richards’ line as well. But it’s (kinda) all fun and games when you’re facing a team as hapless as the Coyotes.
The Pens are a whole different story, and don’t be surprised to see Steve Downie or Robert Bortuzzo make a point of putting their body on Teravainen when he tries to go the net.
THE NUMBERS
Power Play Chicago, 15th, 18.6% Pittsburgh, 6th, 22.4% Penalty Kill Chicago, 2nd, 88.2% Pittsburgh, 3rd, 87.6%
5-on-5 GF/GA Chicago, 5th, 1.29 Pittsburgh, 7th, 1.17
THE LINEUPS (PROJECTED)
Chicago
Saad Toews Hossa Sharp Richards Kane Bickell Teravainen Shaw Nordstrom Kruger Smith
Keith Rundblad Rozsival Oduya Hjalmarsson Seabrook
Crawford
Pittsburgh
Kunitz Crosby Perron Spaling Malkin Bennett Arcobello Sutter Downie Farnham Adams Sill
Martin Letang (tentative, injured last night) Harrington Ehrhoff Scuderi Bortuzzo
Fleury
I'll recap tomorrow.