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Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins 7PM Eastern/6 Central NHL Network/WGN Radio
THE BUZZ
There’s something special about this matchup.
Everyone remembers the “17 Seconds… of destiny last year—when the Blackhawks quickly locked up the Stanley Cup in Game 6 of the Finals in Boston.
But this was once also hockey’s greatest rivalry in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s: Orr, Hull, both Esposito Brothers—one playing for each team, Mikita, Bucyk, Pappin, Cashman, Magnuson, MacKenzie, Hodge . . .
And hey, guess what, tonight’s game has some importance in and of itself.
The Bruins are trying to nail down the top seed in the Eastern Conference—they’re every bit the tenacious, tough as nails team the Hawks have had all kinds of trouble with the last few seasons. And the Hawks are desperately trying to improve on or at least hold on to their #4 spot in the Western Conference.
This is a test for a Hawk club playing better of late, as the question looming over Blackhawk Nation this morning is whether this team is closer to the ones that won the Cup in 2010 and 2013—or to the ones that bowed out meekly in the first rounds of 2011 and 2012.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Chicago
Versteeg Toews Hossa Sharp Handzus Shaw Saad Teravainen Smith Bollig Kruger Morin
Keith Seabrook Oduya Hjalmarsson Leddy Rundblad
Crawford
Boston
Lucic Krejci Iglinla Marchand Bergeron Smith Kelly Soderberg Eriksson Paille Campbell Thornton
Chara Hamilton Boychuk Bartkowski Miller Krug
Rask
All for now,
JJ