The Chicago Blackhawks are set to take on the Minnesota Wild in preseason game 1.
The Chicago Blackhawks, after a morning skate at Blackhawks Ice Center, are heading north for their first preseason game. That will take place against the Minnesota Wild, who are also opening their exhibition schedule.
The Blackhawks officially started training camp on Thursday, so it’s a quick turnaround to get into games. Some of their top prospects, many of whom will play against the Wild on Saturday, had their Prospect Showcase the week before main camp began.
Scouting Minnesota
The Minnesota Wild are using a mostly non-NHL lineup. Veterans like Nick Foligno, Nico Sturm, and Oli Maatta will play, but stars like Quinn Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber will not be involved in the game.
Calvin Pickard is expected to start in net and play for the entire game. Former Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno is skating on the top line against his old team. He is the perfect veteran to help these young Wild players. The rest of the group will line up like this:
Sturm-Stramel-N. Foligno
Shaw-Haight-Gambrell
Pitlick-Heidt-Kirkland
Joshua-Bankier-Lorenz
Maatta-Hunt
Lambos-Kiersted
Koster-Schmidt/Spacek
Pickard
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks are also not bringing an NHL lineup to Minnesota. Landon Slaggert, Ethan Del Mastro, and Kevin Korchinski will play for Chicago, but they are bubble players for opening night.
Notable prospects at the Prospect Showcase will skate in this one. Sacha Boisvert, AJ Spellacy, Ashton Cumby, and Marek Vanacker are among those who will play for the Blackhawks.
3 goaltenders are traveling with the Blackhawks, but Arvid Soderblom is also expected to start and play the whole game. Jeff Blashill said he wants Soderblom and Knight to get reps in the preseason.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it is available on CHSN locally. The puck will drop shortly after 7:00 PM CT.
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