Chicago Blackhawks’ Morning Links: Three’s Company

More preseason hockey will emanate from the United Center tonight as the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Columbus Blue Jackets once again

For those of you happy to see the Chicago Blackhawks back in action — whether it be NHLers, minor leaguers or some combination of the two — there’s good news on the horizon. The team is set to take the ice again tonight for another preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blackhawks have blasted their way to wins over Columbus and Detroit by a cumulative 11-3 margin so far this preseason. Depending on what type of lineup the Blackhawks roll with tonight, who knows how that number will be affected.

One player we’ll definitely be on the lookout for is captain Jonathan Toews. He was held from Thursday’s win over Detroit with an illness. It’d be nice to see Toews back and working with the likes of Brandon Saad and Richard Panik, so we can get some sort of feel for how that trio might play out in the regular season.

Also of interest will be how the Blackhawks’ defense is aligned. Luc Snuggerud was a surprise assignment Thursday, but he naturally left that game with what’s since been diagnosed as an upper-body injury. Could this give someone a chance who might’ve been on the outs as far as training camp goes?

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For the Blackhawks’ first preseason home game, it wasn’t surprising to see them roll with many regulars. However, I don’t know that they’ll do the same tonight. We could see guys like Alexandre Fortin, Nathan Noel, Ville Pokka and Erik Gustafsson hit the ice in their bids to continue in training camp.

Guys who stuck out Thursday

Since coach Joel Quenneville iced many of his regulars against the Red Wings, though, it’s interesting to note with guys aren’t exactly “familiar” among that group. Super-prospect Alex DeBrincat certainly sticks out, and he cashed in on his first real NHL opportunity with a goal.

Also falling into that group were David Kampf, Viktor Svedberg, Jordan Oesterle and Snuggerud, backup goaltender Collin Delia could also get lumped in there, but the goaltender position obviously calls for different player demands during the preseason versus the forward and defense roles.

Still, I think DeBrincat is the only one of these five who has a strong shot to make the opening night roster out of camp. Maybe Snuggerud had a surprising inside track to the third pairing, but that likely takes a hit with his injury. Kampf is probably an early call-up at forward, and same goes for Oesterle on defense.

This really doesn’t mean anything until opening night actually arrives, but what would training camp be without needless speculation? We’ll get plenty of that whenever guys like DeBrincat play among the regulars in actual competition.

Now, let’s get to some Chicago Blackhawks morning links.