The Blackhawks are back on the road as they visit the Penguins on Saturday in Pittsburgh seeking their 11th straight win in the season series.
After a struggling to put the puck on net in San Jose with only 21 shots Tuesday in a 4-2 loss, Chicago fired 35 shots on net against the Canucks in a 5-2 home win Thursday.
Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome each had three points with a goal and two assists and three helpers, respectively. Corey Crawford stopped 36 of 38 shots for his second victory this season. Crawford is 9-1 with a .949 save percentage and 1.66 goals-against average against Pittsburgh in his career.
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Olli Maatta, who was acquired by Chicago in June for winger Dominik Kahun, will make his return to Pittsburgh. Maatta has four assists in 15 games with Chicago, including two helpers Thursday. Kahun has seven points (three goals, four assists) in the same amount of games.
Rookies Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist will both sit out as healthy scratches as part of the team’s development plan, Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton told the media Saturday afternoon.
Pittsburgh returns to PPG Paints Arena after a 4-3 overtime road win Thursday against the Islanders. The Penguins scored three third-period goals to snap New York’s 10-game win streak and avenge Pittsburgh’s first-round playoff sweep last spring.
Defenseman Kris Letang is week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury Monday in Boston. He was off to a hot start offensively, recording 12 points in his first 15 games. With Letang out, rookie John Marino has stepped in and played with Brian Dumoulin on the top pairing. Chicago also won’t see Patric Hornqvist, who has five goals and 10 points, after he was placed on injured reserve.
The Penguins have struggled on the power play, going 0-for-23 in 10-plus games. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan split up stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin during Friday’s practice to try something new. The Penguins’ penalty kill, however, has plenty of success as the fourth-best unit in the league.
Crosby, as expected, leads Pittsburgh in scoring with 12 assists and 17 points. Jake Guenztel is the team’s goal scorer with seven and second in points with 13.
Matt Murray is expected to start in net. He’s 8-3-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average and .914 save percentage this season.
Tale of the tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Penguins
46.8% (29th) — Corsi For — 53.9% (2nd)
48.1% (26th) — Faceoffs — 50.5% (11th)
2.53 (28th) — Goals per game — 3.44 (7th)
3.00 (t-16th) — Goals against per game — 2.63 (t-23rd)
14.6% (24th) — Power play — 13.3% (26th)
80% (19th) — Penalty kill — 86.8% (4th)
Lineups
Blackhawks
Nylander — Toews — Saad
DeBrincat — Strome — Kane
Shaw — Kampf — Kubalik/Dach
Caggilua — Carpenter — Smith
Keith — Gustafsson
De Haan — Seabrook
Maatta — Koekkoek
Crawford
Lehner
Maple Leafs
Johnsson — Matthews — Nylander
Moore — Tavares — Marner
Mikheyev — Kerfoot — Kapanen
Timashov — Shore — Gauthier
Rielly — Ceci
Muzzin — Barrie
Dermott — Holl
Hutchinson
Andersen
How to watch
When: 6 p.m.
Where: PPG Paints, Pittsburgh
TV: NBC Sports Chicago, NHL Network
Live stream: NBC Sports app