Morning Bag Skate: Blackhawks look to sweep season series against Penguins
Our daily look at Blackhawks news and the happenings around the hockey world.
The Chicago Blackhawks started their season off with a bang with a 10-1 win over the two-time reigning Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hawks will look for the season series sweep when they visit Pittsburgh on Saturday.
HAWKS
**Is salary cap relief on the way for the Blackhawks? (SCH)
**Middling start gives Blackhawks unusual urgency in regular season (Chicago Sun Times)
**Murphy gets used to life on the left side (Chicago Tribune)
**Veterans to blame for Hawks’ early season penalty increase (SCH)
**Toews wants you to buy a ‘Toewster’ with his face on it for charity (SCH)
**‘Wow, what a place’: Blackhawks officially open new practice facility (Chicago Sun Times)
**Franson's shot a helpful weapon for Blackhawks (Chicago Tribune)
CENTRAL DIVISION
**Sarah McLellan steps in as Star Tribune's Wild beat writer (Star Tribune)
**Blues recall Megan from AHL (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
**Avs’ MacKinnon is on fire, offensively, and he expects to stay red-hot (The Denver Post)
**Colorado recalls forward Dominic Toninato (Mile High Hockey)
**Kiszla: Matt who? Teenager Sam Girard gives Avs hope for future; Duchene error is over (The Denver Post)
NHL
**Sources: NHL, Rockets owner meet to talk NHL's viability in Houston (The Athletic)
**5 cities worthy of an expansion team (theScore)
**Blue Jackets sign Atkinson to $41M, 7-year extension (Jackets Cannon)
**Atkinson signing pushes Blue Jackets closer to 2019 salary cap crunch (Jackets Cannon)
**RECAP: Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets shut out Rangers (NHL.com)
**RECAP: Red Wings respond for win against Sabres (Winging It In Motown)
**Flames’ Tkachuk reportedly suspended 1 game for inciting brawl (Matchsticks and Gasoline)
**Golden Knights fielding ‘a lot of calls’ about trading Neal and Perron, per report (Knights On Ice)
HOCKEY WORLD
**RECAP: No. 3 North Dakota rallies back in wild win over No. 1 Denver (The Denver Post)
**RECAP: No. 7 Minnesota spreads the wealth in win over No. 13 Harvard (Star Tribune)
**RECAP: Hayton comes up big in No. 9 Wisconsin’s series-opening win over No. 17 Michigan (Wisconsin State Journal)
**OHL roundup: Greyhounds extend streak to 8 games with win over Wolves (Sportsnet)
**QMJHL roundup: Sea Dogs halt losing streak with win over Mooseheads (Sportsnet)