Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-1, 7 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division) @ Chicago Blackhawks (1-5-0, 2 points, 8th place Central Division)
How to Watch: Local broadcast on Chicago Sports Network and Sportsnet Pittsburgh, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: This is the start of a four-game road trip, which continues this weekend with a back-to-back in Denver (Friday) and Las Vegas (Saturday) before wrapping up Monday in Salt Lake City.
Opponent Track: The Blackhawks have been outscored 26-12 during their 1-5 start to the season. The Hawks are riding a two-game losing streak into Tuesday after most recently losing 5-2 to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
Season Series: The Penguins won both games of this season series last year, winning 7-3 against a team missing Connor Bedard in December before claiming a 6-2 victory in January.
Hidden Stat: The Blackhawks have had one of the worst power plays in the NHL so far this season after going 1-f0r-14 on the man advantage through six games. The home team will see if that changes tonight with the potential return of Connor Bedard.
Getting to know the Blackhawks
Roman Kantserov – Connor Bedard – Patrick Kane
Tyler Bertuzzi – Anton Frondell – Teuvo Teravainen
Cole Smith – Ryan Greene – Jordan Greenway
Oliver Moore – Dominic Toninato – Ryan Donato
Bowen Byram – Artyom Levshunov
Wyatt Kaiser – Sam Rinzel
Goalies: Spencer Knight, Arvid Soderblom
Potential scratches: Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro, Nick Lardis
Injured Reserve: Andrew Mangiapane
Connor Bedard could be making his season debut for the Blackhawks, and his first appearance alongside Patrick Kane on Chicago’s new top line, after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery and missing the start of their campaign. He rejoined practice without a no-contact jersey Sunday, and multiple reporters indicated Monday he could be in the lineup against the Pens.Based on Monday’s practice lineup, second-year forward Nick Lardis will be the odd man out if Bedard is able to play tonight.Bedard missed 12 games last season with a shoulder injury before returning to the lineup. He then suffered another injury in practice in early July and underwent surgery. Unlike his last return from a shoulder issue, Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said Bedard won’t have restrictions such as a ban on face-offs. Blashill also noted Bedard might need some additional time to adjust to game speed before producing, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.Frank Nazar is serving out the back half of a two-game suspension for a hit to the head of the New York Islanders’ Bo Horvat.
Rookie Roman Kantserov, who could be skating on Bedard’s wing opposite Kane tonight, scored the first goal of his NHL career on a breakaway in the Blackhawks’ Saturday loss to the Hurricanes.Spencer Knight is in line for another season as the Blackhawks’ top goaltender after starting 55 games last season. He’s started four of the Hawks’ six games, and he made 25 saves on 27 shots in their lone win of the season so far against the St. Louis Blues.
Projected lines (based on Monday’s practice)
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Andrei Kuzmenko – Ben Kindel – Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Nick Robertson
Declan Carlile / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kaeden Korczak
Spencer Stastney / Kris Letang
Goalies: Arturs Silovs, Sergei Murashov
Potential Scratches: Elmer Soderblom, Hendrix Lapierre
IR: Ryan Graves, Justin Brazeau, Trevor van Riemsdyk
van Riemsdyk hit IR yesterday, backdated to 10/9. That means he could be eligible to return as soon as the following game on Friday night, if his health allows it. The Pens haven’t announced any call-ups from the AHL for the interim, but they do have an open roster spot and only six healthy defensemen. (A pre-emptive welcome back to the NHL roster, Ilya Solovyov?)It looks like there’s a chance Andrei Kuzmenko draws into the lineup tonight after an extended absence from the non-roster list. Based on practice, that would mean Hendrix Lapierre and Elmer Soderblom are the odd men out, given that Koivunen also rotated back in.