Just two more games in the Chicago Blackhawks‘ preseason, the first coming Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. The final road exhibition of the season for the Hawks unsurprisingly comes with a prospect-laden roster as the big names get a little more rest before the real grind begins.
Ville Pokka and Brandon Mashinter were called up from Rockford earlier on Thursday to fill roster spots, an early indication that the team wouldn’t be icing most of its key players. The roster released for the game includes Marko Dano, Andrew Shaw, Trevor Daley, Bryan Bickell and Andrew Desjardins, but also has several players who won’t be around in a week.
That’s not too much of a difference from how the team has handled most of its preseason games, as the veterans have sat in favor of players who are competing for the final spots on the roster. That hasn’t hurt them so far, as the Hawks are 3-1 in the preseason, including wins over Detroit, Montreal and St. Louis. Not that the wins matter much.
The Blues enter the game with a 3-2 record. They lost to the Hawks, 3-1, last week, then followed it up by beating the Stars, 4-1, on Tuesday. This is the last preseason game for St. Louis. The Hawks return to Chicago for one more exhibition Saturday before dropping the puck in the regular season opener next Wednesday.
Here are the lineups:
Here’s the #Blackhawks lineup tonight. Pokka and Mashinter indeed are in. Darling is expected to get the whole game. pic.twitter.com/kvq8h2we04
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 1, 2015
How to watch
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis
TV: CSN+, NHL Network