The microscope is out, and every move is being watched closely. A few loose pucks could make the difference between playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and a trip to the minors.
The Madhouse on Madison was back in mid-season form Monday night as a sold out crowd poured into the arena to cheer on the Blackhawks during their scrimmage at the annual training camp festival.
The loaded Blackhawks return mostly intact after losing to eventual NHL champion Los Angeles in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on June 1, and now the Blackhawks will face an old rival as the Detroit Red Wings come to town. While injuries or an upcoming salary-cap move could shake up the picture a bit, it looks as if there are very few open spots in the lineup heading into the preseason.
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Chicago plays its first exhibition game tonight against Detroit, and the preseason schedule could go a long way to answering the biggest question about the team. The Blackhawks are about $2.2 million above the salary cap and will have to make a move before the regular-season opener Oct. 9 at Dallas.
General manager Stan Bowman has said the preseason will give the team a chance to take a look at which position it feels can afford to lose a veteran player. It also could create demand for Chicago's players if there is an injury on another club.
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What to expect: Like Monday night, there will be a lot of guys looking for ice time as they fight for one of few open roster spots. Expect a lot of line changes and different matchups as the game progresses.
Keep an eye out
For Teuvo Teravainen. The former first-round pick sat out of Monday's scrimmage after suffering an upper-body injury during training camp. But coach Joel Quenneville said Monday that Teravainen is "fine, could probably play tonight," and confirmed he will be on the ice against Detroit.
Line to watch
Jeremy Morin, Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith combined for an impressive line on Monday night, scoring six points in the white team's 5-1 win over the red team. How much ice time they get together in tonight's game remains to be seen, but Quenneville was happy with what he saw from them in the scrimmage, so he could continue to look at that as the preseason progresses.
Goaltenders
Corey Crawford and Scott Darling are expected to play in net for the Blackhawks.
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