First Meeting with Bedard: Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks Preview

The perfect Vegas Golden Knights wrap up their short road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks. Tonight marks the first meeting with 2023 No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard.

About the Golden Knights (5-0-0, 10 points): The house continues to win night after night. Logan Thompson made a series of spectacular saves to carry the Golden Knights to victory on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. The Golden Knights found a way to win despite not having their “A” game.

Coach Bruce Cassidy made a curious statement after Thursday’s victory in Winnipeg. “We got to see who’s healthy.” Cassidy on if the team would practice on Friday. Could that mean Alex Pietrangelo is possibly returning? Did someone in Thursday’s game suffer an injury? It did not appear anyone got hurt during the course of play in Winnipeg so we will have to wait and see exactly what Cassidy was referring to.

In all likelihood, Pietrangelo will miss tonight’s game and Zach Whitecloud remains out on LTIR.

Expected lines

Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault
Cotter-Stephenson-Stone
Howden-Karlsson-Amadio
Carrier-Roy-Kolesar

Martinez-Hague
McNabb-Theodore
Hutton-Pachal

Hill

Golden Knights to watch: William Karlsson is quietly having a good season. The 31-year-old has one goal with four assists and is a plus-6 on the young season. Paul Cotter has been doing a great job of winning battles and creating mayhem on the ice. Shea Theodore had three assists in Thursday’s game against the Jets.

Blackhawks to watch: This one seems pretty obvious. The Blackhawks made a splash in the offseason by signing Corey Perry to a one-year deal worth $4 million. The Blackhawks traded for Taylor Hall in the offseason.

Are we forgetting anyone?

Connor Bedard! Expectations are unreasonably high for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick. Bedard comes into tonight’s game having played five road games and logging three points. How will he handle the pressure of playing on West Madison Street for the first time?

Key storyline: The Blackhawks play in the dreaded “first game back after a long road trip.” Tonight is obviously different. Saturday night marks the beginning the post Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane era.

The sub-storyline also surrounds Bedard. The NHL decided to parade the 18-year-old across North America to start the season. Bedard seems worn out just a few games into the new season. The Blackhawks decided to not make Bedard available to the Toronto media which may have been a subtle jab at the NHL.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 5:00 p.m. PST.
TV: Vegas 34 (Scripps Sports)
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340