Blackhawks vs. Penguins preview: Chicago seeks final 2 points of first half

The Chicago Blackhawks will play their final game of the first half against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night at the Consol Energy Center.

Chicago got goals from five different players in Tuesday's 6-1 win, Andrew Shaw scored twice and Patrick Kane netted his 200th career goal and had two assists. Rookie Teuvo Teravainen posted his first career multi-point game with a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Toews snapped an 11-game goal drought with his 14th tally of the season.

Antti Raanta stopped 35 shots in the win as Chicago sits third in the Central Division, two points ahead of Winnipeg and two back of St. Louis.

The two teams split their two contests last season, with the Blackhawks winning 5-1 in the Stadium Series at Soldier Field and the Penguins prevailing 4-1 in March. Corey Crawford started in both games, and made 31 saves in the win and 23 in the loss.

Chicago has not won in Pittsburgh since 2009.

Crawford will likely get the start and he is 2-1-0 lifetime against the Penguins with a 1.95 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.

Opponent Breakdown: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins sit second in the Metropolitan Division, and have lost to a divisional rival each time over a current three-game skid. The first two setbacks came against the New York Islanders and New York Rangers before falling 3-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime.

Chris Kunitz and Beau Bennett scored for the Penguins, while Thomas Greiss allowed three goals on 40 shots in the loss. The Penguins suffered a greater loss during the game when blue liner Kris Letang took an illegal hit from Flyers' Zac Rinaldo in the first period and did not return to the game. Letang participated in the team's optional skate this morning and will be a game-time decision, according to coach Mike Johnston.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin rank tied for third in the league with Kane at 51 points this season. Crosby has posted 13 points (4G, 9A) in his last eight games, while Malkin has 10 points (3G, 7A).

The Penguins recalled high-energy forward Bobby Farnham from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and he experienced the Penguins-Flyers rivalry for the first time. He had a 10-game stint with the Penguins recently, in which he was credited with no points, 24 hits and 19 penalty minutes.

Marc-Andre Fleury will start and is 5-2-2 in his career against the Blackhawks with a 2.60 GAA and .918 save percentage in nine outings.

Injury Report

Chicago: Kris Versteeg (hand) and Trevor van Riemsdyk (knee)

Pittsburgh: Simon Despres (illness), Patric Hornqvist (lower-body), Blake Comeau (upper-body), Olli Maatta (illness) and Pascal Dupuis (blood clots)

Game Information

When: 7 p.m. CT

Where: Consol Energy Center

TV: NBC Sports

Radio: WGN-720

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