Pittsburgh Penguins (23–12–6) at Chicago Blackhawks (15–21–7)
7:00pm CST
PPG Paints Arena
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Cam Ward (6–7–4, SV%: .888, GAA: 3.85)
Pittsburgh – Matt Murray (11–5–1, SV%: .913, GAA: 2.89)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (15.4%, 24th)
Pittsburgh (27.2%, 5th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.2%, 31st)
Pittsburgh (84.1%, 4th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.4, 19th; 34.6, 29th)
Pittsburgh (32.5, 11th; 33.0, 25th)
Shooting %
Chicago (9.1%, 21st)
Pittsburgh (10.7%, 6th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.7%, 18th)
Pittsburgh (50.1%, 14th)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Pittsburgh 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
Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook
Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel–Sidney Crosby–Bryan Rust
Dominik Simon–Evgeni Malkin–Patric Hornqvist
Tanner Pearson–Derick Brassard–Phil Kessel
Riley Sheahan–Matt Cullen–Zach Aston-Reese
Marcus Pettersson–Jack Johnson
Analysis
Collin Delia has been nothing short of spectacular thus far for the Blackhawks. After an outstanding outing Thursday night in Long Island, the Blackhawks spoiled Delia’s 47-save performance in overtime. With back-to-back games upcoming, this sets up Blackhawks fans for a Ward-Delia split over the next two days.
After visa issues over the past week, Drake Caggiula finally joins the team prior to taking on the Penguins in Pittsburgh. After Saturday’s practice, it is likely that Caggiula will slot on the fourth line for tonight’s contest with Marcus Kruger and… Chris Kunitz (more on that later). With Caggiula joining the team, the Blackhawks sent down both Andreas Martinsen and Dylan Sikura to the Rockford IceHogs.
The Penguins enter Sunday night’s action riding an eight-game win streak. After a quiet start to their season, the Penguins have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since mid-to-late November. The Penguins also rank top-10 in numerous critical areas such as power play and penalty kill, so keep an eye on that tonight as the Blackhawks have struggled all season on special teams.
The Penguins will be honoring the 2009 Stanley Cup team at PPG Paints Arena. Despite not playing much in the last 15 games, Chris Kunitz will play tonight as a part of his special night. Kunitz was a key member of the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions and, although not having a good season for Chicago, will play tonight as a part of his special night in the city he called home for eight and a half seasons.