Chicago Blackhawks vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Game Preview, Lines, Odds, Predictions, & more

The 2023-24 NHL season is officially upon us as the Chicago Blackhawks head to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.

Chicago has a ton of hype entering this season after drafting Connor Bedard first overall. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, missed the playoffs last season and went out and added Erik Karlsson to bolster their roster.

The game goes down at 8 p.m. ET at the PPG Pains Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The game can be seen on ESPN in America and Sportsnet in Canada.

Chicago Blackhawks preview

The Chicago Blackhawks had arguably the move of the off-season by drafting Connor Bedard, who has been compared to the likes of Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. To help ease Bedard into the NHL, the Blackhawks went out and added Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and Corey Perry to be a veteran presence for him.

Chicago is currently a big underdog to make the playoffs this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and went out and had an active off-season. The Penguins' big off-season addition was trading for Erik Karlsson who will only strengthen their D-core and offense. Pittsburgh also re-signed Tristan Jarry to be their starting goalie.

The Penguins are currently favored to make the playoffs this season.

Blackhawks & Penguins lines

Chicago Blackhawks lines

Forwards

• Hall-Bedard-Donato
• Johnson-Reichel-Raddysh
• Katchouk-Guttman-Athanasiou
• Perry-Dickinson-Foligno

Defensemen

• Vlasic-Jones
• Korchinski-Murphy
• Tinordi-Kaiser

Goalies

• Mrazek
• Soderblom

Pittsburgh Penguins lines

Forwards

• Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
• Smith-Malkin-Rakell
• O'Connor-Eller-Harkins
• Nieto-Acciari-Carter

Defensemen

• Graves-Letang
• Pettersson-Karlsson
• Joseph-Ruhwedel

Goalies

• Jarry
• Nedeljkovic

Blackhawks vs. Penguins Odds & Predictions

The Pittsburgh Penguins are -245 on the moneyline with the comeback on the Chicago Blackhawks at +200. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals with the over juiced to -120.

The Blackhawks have a bright future with Connor Bedard, but they are expected to be one of the worst teams this season. Chicago will struggle to score goals, especially from the bottom six, while goaltending is a big concern.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has a solid roster that will be looking to make a statement against Chicago here. The Penguins' offense will be too much for the Blackhawks defensively and they should cruise to a win here.

Prediction: Penguins 5, Blackhawks 2