Game 1: Chicago Blackhawks (0-0-0) at Utah Hockey Club (0-0-0)
Venue: Delta Center
Date: Tuesday, October 8
Time: 9:00 pm CDT / 8:00 pm MDT
TV: ESPN / ESPN+
Radio:
Chicago – WGN Radio 720 AM
Utah – The KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM / 97.5 FM
DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:
Chicago +1.5
Utah -1.5
O/U 6
Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster
Chicago Blackhawks Notes:
Nick Foligno has been named captain for the 24-25 season, a title he also held for six seasons in Columbus. New additions Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Ilya Mikheyev should help a Blackhawks team that struggled to score last season. Chicago was last in the NHL in the 23-24 season with 2.17 Goals Per Game. The Blackhawks also got some experience on the back end with new additions TJ Brodie and Alec Martinez. Chicago signed former Winnipeg Jets backup Goalie Laurent Brossoit who will start the season on IR but who they hope will push incumbent goaltender Petr Mrazek for the number one job.
Utah Hockey Club Notes:
Utah gets its inaugural season underway after some tough seasons in limbo as the former Arizona Coyotes. A fresh start in Utah gives the team some renewed enthusiasm, and new owners Ryan and Ashley Smith have events planned all day leading up to the game, highlighted by the players walking in on a Mountain Blue carpet, followed by a concert by country singer Shaboozey and a flyover of four F-35A jets.
Chicago Blackhawks Lineup:
Mikheyev-Bedard-Teravainen
Hall-Kurashev-Bertuzzi
Foligno-Dickinson-Anderson
Smith-Donato-Maroon
Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Allan-Murphy
Mrazek
Soderblom
Utah Hockey Club Lineup:
Keller-Hayton-Schmaltz
McBain-Cooley-Guenther
Maccelli-Doan-Crouse
O’Brien-Stenlund-Kerfoot
Sergachev-Derzi
Valimak-Kesselring
Cole-Kolyachonok
Ingram
Vejmelka
Players To Watch:
Chicago – Connor Bedard looks to improve on his 61-point Calder Trophy season (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games. Teravainen and Mikheyev will start the season on the wings for Bedard and could be primed for breakout years.
Utah – The first captain in Utah Hockey Club history, Clayton Keller, believes the rebuild is over and the goal is playoffs. Keller led the team in points last year with 76 (33 goals, 43 assists).
Injuries:
Chicago –
D Wyatt Kaiser – IR – Est. return October 15
D Artyom Levshunov – IR (Non-Roster) – Est. return October 15
G Laurent Brossoit – IR (Non-Roster) – Est. return October 11
Utah –
D John Marino – OUT – Est. return October 12
C Nick Bjugstad – OUT Week to Week – Est. return early November
Next game
Chicago – October 11 at Winnipeg
Utah – October 10 at NY Islanders
