Chicago Blackhawks vs Pittsburgh Penguins
7pm Untied Center – Chicago, IL
TV: CSN Chicago
Radio : WGN 720 AM
Sidney Crosby is a bit a mythical creature in Chicago. We see him on television, we hear Pierre McGuire swoon over him every chance he gets, but we never actually get to see him. Tonight Crosby will suit up for the Penguins and it will be the first time he has touched the United Center ice since January of 2006.
Marian Hossa was slated to play, and listed on the original roster, but he will sit out the four preseason games with an upper body injury. The team is hoping he will be ready for the final preseason game and the regular season opener, both against the Washington Capitals. At this point there is no reason to put Hossa out there and I would have no problem if he even misses the first few games of the regular season.
Nikolai Khabibulin will get the start in net tonight, with Antti Raanta slated to start Friday’s game in Washington. Captain Jonathan Toews is also expected to make his debut tomorrow night.
Blackhawks Roster
Forwards
Patrick Sharp – Kyle Beach – Drew LeBlanc – Marcus Kruger – Brandon Saad – Jimmy Hayes – Teuvo Teravainen – Ben Smith – Bryan Bickell – Ryan Hartman – Brandon Bollig – Terry Broadhurst – Andrew Shaw – Patrick Kane
Defensemen
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Brent Seabrook – Nick Leddy – Sheldon Brookbank – Johnny Oduya – Viktor Svedberg – Adam Clendening – Ryan Stanton
Goaltenders
Nikolai Khabibulin – Antti Raanta
Penguins Roster
Forwards
Chuck Kobasew – Chris Kunitz – Brandon Sutter – Dustin Jeffery – Beau Bennett – Matt D’Agostini – Steve MacIntyre – Zach Sill – Adam Payerl – Joe Vitale – Jayson Megna – Sidney Crosby
Defensemen
Matt Niskanen – Deryk Engelland – Brendan Mikkelson – Robert Bortuzzo – Simon Despres – Derrick Pouliot – Philip Samuelsson
Goaltenders