The Chicago Blackhawks had practice on Tuesday, and there were some interesting updates.
The Chicago Blackhawks held a practice on Tuesday to prepare for the season finale against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
The Sharks are freshly eliminated, but Macklin Celebrini and company will have plenty of motivation to put on a show as their season winds down.
Over the last handful of games, the Blackhawks have been less than stellar. This is their last chance to show some life before a long but important off-season. This practice was an effort to do just that.
Nazar-Bedard-Lardis
Mikheyev-Frondell-Bertuzzi
Donato-Greene-Burakovsky
Teravainen-Lafferty-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Rinzel
Korchinski-Del Mastro
Knight
Soderblom
Sacha Boisvert, Dominic Toninato, and Oliver Moore skated as extras. Despite some speculation that he might play one game at the end of the season, they decided to keep Oliver Moore out to avoid any reinjury. He has all summer to work on his game.
The curious decision is the one to keep Sacha Boisvert out of the main line rushes. This doesn't make it a for sure thing that he won't play against the Sharks, but it doesn't seem likely based on practice.
The defense group stayed the same, but the forwards had some mix-ups. Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert both appear poised to play, despite being healthy-scratched a lot in the second half of the season.
Frank Nazar is being moved back up to the top line to play wing with Connor Bedard, while Ryan Greene is back at center on the third line.
Jeff Blashill has maintained wanting to work on winning hockey, despite this not being a winning team. They are the youngest team in the NHL, so that may take a little bit more time than some were anticipating.
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