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

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

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

Brian Dumolin–Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson–Jack Johnson

Olli Maatta–Jusso Riikola

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.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

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