8:30p ET, United Center

Chicago ,IL

TV: WGN locally in Chicago, & broadcast on the NHL Network in the US at 1AM ET

Blackhawks Blog: Second City Hockey

The Red Wings kick off the 2015 preseason by making the trip to Chicago to take on the Chicago Blackhawks. It's preseason hockey so we get to see a whole bunch of players who won't be on the opening day roster. The Hawks haven't made their game day roster public yet so we'll find out sometime later today if they're going to ice their A squad or their B squad. My gut says they'll ice more of their big name NHL players while at home, then when the Wings play more of their NHL roster at home on Wednesday, the Hawks will play more of their prospects and minor league players.

Here's who the Wings will be putting on the ice tonight.

The Lineup

Forwards

Defensemen

Goaltenders

There's not a lot to read into the lines, because it's preseason. One thing I do expect to see is a relatively even usage of the lines and pairings. I am very much looking forward to seeing Mantha - Larkin - Pulkkinen and Bertuzzi - Athanasiou - Svechnikov in action, even if it is preseason. I hope the Hawks do ice their A squad so we get a good look at what those 6 players can do against NHL'ers in an actual game situation. It would be a great learning tool for them, a ton of fun for us to watch, and if we got out butts kicked (I don't believe we would), there's nothing to lose.

A lot of people hate preseason hockey, but I love it because it's a free experimentation period to put your kids out there and test them, and anytime I can watch our prospects wear the Winged Wheel and play hockey is a good day.

We'll keep an eye out for any Chicago line updates throughout the day

This will be your game thread tonight.

UPDATE: Here is the Hawks roster for tonight

Here's the #Blackhawks' roster for tonight's preseason opener against the #RedWings. pic.twitter.com/msjoi0eLeI

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) September 22, 2015

Let's Go Red Wings!!!