Vegas Golden Knights (27–16–4) vs Chicago Blackhawks (16–22–8)
7:30pm CST
United Center
TV/Radio: WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Collin Delia (3–1–2, SV%: .939, GAA: 2.49)
Vegas – Marc-Andre Fleury (25–11–4, SV%: .912, GAA: 2.48)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (16.7%, T23rd)
Vegas (19.0%, 17th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.9%, 31st)
Vegas (83.8%, 7th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.5, 18th; 34.8, 30th)
Vegas (33.1, 5th; 28.6, 3rd)
Shooting %
Chicago (9.2%, 18th)
Vegas (9.1%, 21st)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.6%, 18th)
Vegas (49.4%, 19th)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Vegas 6’1” 200lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun
Artem Anisimov–Dylan Strome–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Brendan Perlini
John Hayden–Marcus Kruger–Drake Caggiula
Henri Jokiharju–Brent Seabrook
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault–William Karlsson–Brandon Pirri
Max Pacioretty–Paul Stastny–Alex Tuch
Oscar Lindberg–Cody Eakin–Ryan Carpenter
Tomas Nosek–Pierre-Edouard Bellemare–Ryan Reaves
Analysis
Fresh off of another disappointing overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night, the Blackhawks look to rebound against the “boys from Sin City” as they welcome the Golden Knights to town. Although giving up four goals last time out, Collin Delia once again draws the start in net for the Blackhawks.
The only major change that is likely for the Blackhawks on Saturday is the “left side debut” of Henri Jokiharju. Reports indicate that the young Finnish defenseman will play the left side while paired with Brent Seabrook. Blackhawks fans will have to wait on the debut of Slater Koekkoek, after he was acquired for Jan Rutta on Friday, according to head coach Jeremy Colliton. However, Koekkeok was on the ice for morning skate wearing number 68. Duncan Keith, who missed practice with illness, was also on the ice for morning skate.
The Golden Knights come into the United Center as one of the hottest teams in hockey. Prior to their 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, the Golden Knights were riding a seven-game win streak. There is no doubt that the Golden Knights will look to start a new winning streak at 1901 W. Madison on Saturday night.
The Golden Knights’ MVP to this point in the season has without a doubt been goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. “Flower” has found the fountain of youth since being picked in the expansion draft by Vegas. After a magical season last year, Fleury is putting together yet another strong campaign. He currently paces the NHL in both wins (25) and shutouts (6) while also maintaining a spot in the top 10 for goals against average (GAA).
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