Pre-Gamin’: Blackhawks at Wild (1:00) — Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread
The Blackhawks are in Minneapolis to take on the Wild in a little Saturday afternoon hockey in the Twin Cities. The Blackhawks will have some new faces in the lineup today, with newcomers Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk joining the club after coming over from Tampa Bay in the Brandon Hagel trade on Friday. Rookie defenseman and Wilmette native Alex Vlasic will also make his Blackhawks and NHL debut this afternoon.
gm everyone pic.twitter.com/Alk31xgoTH
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 19, 2022
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 1:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBC Sports Chicago, ESPN+ (out-of-market)
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (22-30-9)
DeBrincat – Strome – Kane
Kubalík – Toews – Dach
Raddysh – Carpenter – Lafferty
Stillman – Kurashev – Katchouck
de Haan – S. Jones
C. Jones – McCabe
Vlasic – Gustafsson
Lankinen
Wild (35-20-4)
Kaprizov – Hartman – Zuccarello
Fiala – Gaudreau – Boldy
Greenway – Eriksson Ek – Foligno
Duhaime – Jost – Bjugstad
Brodin – Dumba
Goligoski – Spurgeon
Merrill – Kulikov
Talbot
Kahkonen
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Connor Murphy (LTIR – Concussion)
Tyler Johnson (IR – Concussion)
Jujhar Khaira (LTIR – Back)
Wild:
None
What To Watch For
• Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouck will make their Blackhawks debut this afternoon. Raddysh, 24, has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in a limited role with the Lightning this season. The rookie winger scored a goal against the Blackhawks when Tampa Bay was in town on March 6. Katchouck, 23, has six points (two goals, four assists) with the Lightning. Raddysh is seen as a forward with the potential to be a second-line regular one day, while Katchouck appears to be a bottom-six forward with good physicality.
• Patrick Kane’s recent scoring wave has him at 68 points on the season. Kane needs just two points to record his 10th season with 70-plus points. Kane has logged 70-plus points in five of the last six seasons, missing that threshold by just four points last year in the shortened (56 games) season
• Kevin Lankinen will be between the pipes this afternoon, with Marc-André Fleury getting the front half of the back-to-back off. Lankinen has allowed 17 goals in his last four starts, including four to Minnesota on January 22.
• Just a week after his junior season at Boston University ended, Alex Vlasic is making his NHL debut for the Blackhawks this afternoon. Vlasic impressed Derek King during his first practice with the team on Thursday, so the team will look to see what they have in the 2019 second-rounder.
Get Caught Upon
Really interested to see the Hawks' effort level today in Minnesota.
Seems like it'll go one of two ways: either deflated, knowing the rebuild is ON on and nobody is safe, or defiant, trying to prove this team doesn't need rebuilding. https://t.co/R3WF1OITWp
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 19, 2022
"It’s pretty discouraging. I’ll leave it at that for now.”
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was not a fan of the team trading away Brandon Hagel.@MarkLazerus spoke with Toews about his own future with the only NHL team he’s known for 15 years.https://t.co/vU0V6BIyem
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) March 19, 2022
Blackhawks defenseman and Wilmette native Alex Vlasic, 20, will make his NHL debut Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
"I’m sure he’ll be nervous, but we’ll keep him grounded, keep him relaxed,” coach Derek King said.@_phil_thompson's story.https://t.co/PtMfzAlUCo
— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) March 19, 2022
