Blackhawks Game 78: Going for the Sweep in Pittsburgh, Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs Penguins

Chicago Blackhawks (22-45-10, 54 pts) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (31-35-12, 74 pts)
6 pm CT – PPG Paints Arena
TV: CHSN/WCIU (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Murray)

The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins will meet for the second time in three days as they quickly wrap up their two-game season series. The Blackhawks can go for the sweep after beating the Penguins 3-1 at the United Center on Sunday.

The last two trips to Pittsburgh have been memorable. Last season, Connor Bedard made his NHL debut and picked up an assist for his first NHL point in a 4-2 victory. Then there was the “Bubby Robinson Game” at the end of the 2022-23 season when the Blackhawks used an AHL lineup to beat the Penguins and prevent them from making the postseason.

This time around, neither team is making the playoffs. While the Penguins might have a better record this season, these two franchises are heading in opposite directions. You can finally start to see the light at the end of the Blackhawks’ rebuild tunnel while the Penguins are trying to figure out what to do with a team built around aging stars from an era gone.

There will not be any lineup changes for the Blackhawks tonight. Goaltender Spencer Knight will make his fourth straight start. He has been very good during this stretch, with a .920 save percentage (SV%) in his last three starts.

The Penguins are making a change in net, with Tristan Jarry getting the nod tonight. This has been a roller coaster season for Jarry, who spent nearly two months in the AHL. While his overall .888 SV% is not great; he’s been better since being recalled in early March. In his last five starts at PPG Paints Arena, he’s 4-1-0 with a .934 SV%, 2.19 goals-against average, and a shutout.

Tonight’s game will be shown locally on WCIU (Channel 26), so those with Comcast can watch.

Season Series

4/6 3-1 vs PIT
4/8 @ PIT

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Ryan Donato (29)
A-Teuvo Teravainen (42)
P-Connor Bedard (60)
PPG-Bedard/Tyler Bertuzzi (9)
GWG-Bedard (5)
SOG-Bedard (183)
PIM-Pat Maroon (97)

Penguins Team Leaders

G-Rickard Rakell (34)
A-Sidney Crosby (56)
P-Crosby (86)
PPG-Crosby (10)
GWG-Crosby (7)
SOG-Crosby (213)
PIM-Kris Letang (48)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.70 (26^th)
GA/G-3.57 (30^th)
PP%-24.3 (10^th)
PK%-80.3 (12^th)
SOG/G-24.5 (32^nd)
SA/G-31.1 (30^th)
FO%-44.9 (31^st)
PIM/G-8:42 (21^st)

Penguins Team Stats

GF/G-2.91 (19^th)
GA/G-3.58 (31^st)
PP%-24.9 (7^th)
PK%-77.7 (20^th)
SOG/G-28.3 (14^th)
SA/G-30.3 (29^th)
FO%-52.9 (5^th)
PIM/G-6:54 (5^th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Donato-Connor Bedard-Ilya Mikheyev
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Tyler Bertuzzi
Landon Slaggert-Oliver Moore-Philipp Kurashev
Lukas Reichel-Joe Veleno-Nick Foligno

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Kevin Korchinski-Connor Murphy

Scratched
D-T.J. Brodie, D-Louis Crevier, F-Pat Maroon, D-Ethan Del Mastro

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee), F-Colton Dach (elbow), F-Jason Dickinson (wrist), D-Alec Martinez (hip)

Penguins Probable Lines

Forwards
Rutger McGroarty-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Ville Koivunen-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Connor Dewar-Kevin Hayes- Danton Heinen
Matt Nieto-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defensemen
Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang
Conor Timmins-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Ryan Shea

Scratched
F-Joona Koppanen, D-Vladislav Kolyachonok, F-Emil Bemstrom

Injured
D-P.O Joseph (upper body), F-Thomas Novak (lower body), F-Boko Imana (biceps), F-Philip Tomasino (upper body)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (16-15-2, .904 SV%, 2.62 GAA, 2 SO) vs Tristan Jarry (14-11-6, 3.26 GAA, .888 SV%, 1 SO)