Do you feel that? No, it’s not the unseasonably warm weather, it’s the return of Chicago Blackhawks hockey!!
The Hawks open the 2017-18 regular season Thursday against the defending champion Penguins at the United Center. It’s our first chance to get a look at a newlook roster that’s got 12 new players compared to opening day a year ago.
There’s an interesting vibe around the Blackhawks this season. There are a lot of people who see their overhauled defense and don’t believe that this team is equipped to make another playoff run. On the flip side, the forwards are really coming together and a team that has Duncan Keith probably shouldn’t be dismissed.
The Penguins opened their season Wednesday with a 5-4 loss to the Blues. Pittsburgh still has Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, and Matt Murray, so it’s going to be a tough team to beat. But their bottom six looks downright terrible, while the Hawks will be rolling out a Patrick Sharp-Artem Anisimov-Alex DeBrincat line. That could be an advantage for Chicago.
DeBrincat will be making his NHL debut, as will defenseman Jan Rutta on the third pairing. It’ll also be the Chicago debut for Lance Bouma and Connor Murphy, who will add a serious dose of physicality to the Hawks’ lineup. Murphy in particular is a big hitter who will give the Hawks a bit of a different dynamic this season, for better or worse (hopefully better).
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast by NBC Sports Chicago, formerly known as CSN Chicago. Brad Repplinger made this kickass video for us to get ready for the season, which you should totally watch.
The Blackhawks are back tonight. Get hyped. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/oDTWEANuhp
— Second City Hockey🏒 (@2ndCityHockey) October 5, 2017
Projected lineups
Blackhawks
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| F1 | Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Richard Panik |
| F2 | Ryan Hartman – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane |
| F3 | Patrick Sharp – Tanner Kero – Alex DeBrincat |
| F4 | Lance Bouma – Tommy Wingels – John Hayden |
| D1 | Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook |
| D2 | Michal Kempny – Connor Murphy |
| D3 | Gustav Forsling – Jan Rutta |
| Goaltender | Corey Crawford |
Wild
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| F1 | Nino Niederreiter – Eric Staal – Charlie Coyle |
| F2 | Marcus Foligno – Mikko Koivu – Tyler Ennis |
| F3 | Jason Zucker – Joel Eriksson EK – Chris Stewart |
| F4 | Daniel Winnik – Matt Cullen – Gustav Olofsson |
| D1 | Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon |
| D2 | Jonas Brodin – Mathew Dumba |
| D3 | Kyle Quincey – Mike Reilly |
| Goaltender | Devan Dubnyk |
How to watch Blackhawks vs. Penguins
Start time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: United Center, Chicago
TV: NBC Sports Chicago