Blackhawks at Wild: Lineup, How To Watch, Notes

The Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild are set to faceoff tonight in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center.

Tonight will be a big game for Blackhawks fans – as it will be the first airing of Chicago Sports Network, the new home of the Blackhawks. The network will get some preseason action ahead of the start of the regular season next week.

After dropping their first three preseason games, the Blackhawks are looking for their first win of the exhibition season. As for the Wild, they are 2-2-0 across four games, beating the Winnipeg Jets twice and falling to the Dallas Stars twice. Winning and losing in the preseason might not carry any weight but the Hawks would certainly like to win one.

Blackhawks Projected Lineup: 

Taylor Hall – Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi

Lukas Reichel – Philipp Kurashev – Craig Smith

Nick Foligno – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev

A.J. Spellacy – Andreas Athanasiou – Patrick Maroon

Alex Vlasic – Seth Jones

Kevin Korchinski – Connor Murphy

Isaak Phillips – Louis Crevier

Drew Commesso

Arvid Soderblom

Notes:

This is a very veteran heavy lineup going into a road game in Minnesota. With some big time leaders from the team expected to play, watch for how the team performs and competes throughout the night.

Petr Mrazek isn’t going to be playing in this game as Drew Commesso and Arvid Soderblom are both set to dress. Mrazek will be the starter this year and Laurent Brossoit will be the backup when he comes back healthy. For now, Commesso and Soderblom are dueling to be the backup while Brossoit is away with injury.

Players To Watch: 

One player to keep a close eye on in this game is Lukas Reichel. He isn’t playing for his job necessarily but he is playing to prove his worth to the team. Is he a career bottom-six player or will he prove himself to be a goal scorer? Being a bottom-six forward is not an insult but it wasn’t what the Hawks or Reichel had in mind when they selected him in the first round.

The Hawks will probably have a confirmed opinion of Reichel by the end of this season and it starts as early as now for him. If he wants to have a lucrative long NHL career, now is the time for him to get going on a high level.

Look Back: 

The Blackhawks have not played the Wild in the preseason yet. However, the two organizations did come together in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase in September. In Chicago’s one meeting with Minnesota at the showcase, the Hawks won 4-2. They will meet again in the preseason and play four times in the regular season. There will be no love lost by the time we’re at the end of the year.

How To Watch:

Channel: Chicago Sports Network (62.2 and 62.3)
Radio: WGN 720
Time: 6 p.m.

What To Look For In 75 Words Or Less: 

With the Blackhawks roster looking to gel in the final week of training camp, watch for how the young players respond. Connor Bedard, Alex Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski are all still young players in their career. With spots on the team guaranteed for Bedard and Vlasic, the preseason hasn’t been perfect to say the least. Now is the time to start showing something more heading into the season.