The Chicago Blackhawks are Stanley Cup champions after winning the most storied trophy in sports last season and after starting the lockout-shortened schedule with a record streak, the team will try to open things up with a win on Tuesday night, as the NHL schedule starts up with a game against the Washington Capitals from the United Center.
The game will be on live on the NBC Sports Network at 8 pm and the Blackhawks are coming into the season after going 36-7-5 last year, the best record in the league with 77 points during the lockout schedule. The Blackhawks won the Cup over the Boston Bruins in six games last season after making a stunning comeback on the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the playoffs and now they will be going for their third championship in five seasons after winning two in four.
Check here for the NHL live stream for the Blackhawks and the Capitals or for more on the league schedule from Sports World Report.
The team was picked to win again by Sports Illustrated, but coach Joel Quenneville has downplayed that and said that the team will be focused on this season and not what happened last year. The Hawks get to raise their banner on Tuesday night and after opening the season earlier this year with a 24-point outburst, a win would be exactly what the club is looking for and they know how things go, as they defeated the Kings when they raised up their championship banner.
The Blackhawks will be relying on the players that helped them win the Cup last season, including Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa and players like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Michal Rozsival are expected to play big parts again as well. Bolland is now gone after a trade and the team might also be without Hossa for opening night as he tries to recover from an injury in the offseason.
One of the biggest new things in the NHL this season is the divisional alignment and that puts the Blackhawks among some new foes, as the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets have moved East and now the Central has the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets in the division. Corey Crawford will be the primary goalie once again and after the way he played during the Stanley Cup run, the Blackhawks are expecting to get some solid play in net this season.
Mike Kostka is in the fold on defense this season after being a free agent during the summer, signing a deal with the Hawks back in July and now he will be joining the Stanley Cup champions after playing over 30 games with the Maple Leafs last season. On opening night, the Leafs are playing the Montreal Canadiens, while the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets will be playing in the late game for two all-Canada games before the big schedule no Wednesday night in the NHL.
The game will be on the NBC Sports Network at 8pm and will have the Blackhawks starting their campaign against the Caps and Alex Ovechkin, who is looking to get Washington back on track after last season as he tries to make his first Stanley Cup appearance.
Check here for the Blackhawks live stream coverage.