For the first time since April, the Chicago Blackhawks will be back on the ice at the United Center on Wednesday night, hosting the Detroit Red Wings in their preseason opener.
Much of the intrigue around this season’s version of the Blackhawks revolves around the free-agent frenzy that took place back on July 1, when GM Kyle Davidson added several players to the organization who could actually be counted on for more than just bargaining chips at the trade deadline. Most notably, prodigal son Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler “Todd is my uncle not my dad” Bertuzzi provide a bit of offensive punch that’s been woefully lacking at 1901 W. Madison for several seasons now. The return of Taylor Hall from an injury that cost him the majority of last season is also a factor here, although that’s now two seasons of injury issues for a veteran forward on the wrong side of 30.
Still, there are reasons to believe Chicago’s offense could be improved from what it was last season and Wednesday is the first good look at that, even if it’s in a preseason game where levels of care from the skaters on the ice are likely going to vary. Based on the morning skate, the Blackhawks lineup looks awfully similar to what was at Tuesday’s practice and will provide us with the potential of what it can look like when Connor Bedard is skating with a pair of legitimate NHL forwards on each of his wings:
Additional reports from the morning skate indicate that Petr Mrazek will likely be handling the first two periods of play before handing off to Mitchell Weeks. Also, there’s a slight possibility of Ryan Donato departing from the bench mid-game, for a perfectly good reason:
Detroit appears to be sending a decent lineup west for this game, with a few former Blackhawks in the lineup but one particular former Blackhawks forward missing from it:
Drawing too strong of a conclusion from any preseason hockey can be a fool’s errand, of course, but the first game back on home ice after being away from several months tends to heighten adrenaline in a way that likely hasn’t occurred for several of these players since the prior hockey season ended.
If nothing else, there’s always the possibility of No. 98 doing something incredible to remind us all of the generational talent that he is.
Let’s go Hawks.
How to Watch
When: 7 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: N/A
Webstream: The only ways to watch this game are either at the official Blackhawks website or through the team’s official app
Radio: WGN 720