CHICAGO -- The Anaheim Ducks are looking for a spark right now, and they're hopeful rookie forward Chris Wagner can provide one against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNE, SNO, SNP, PRIME, FS-SD, CSN-CH).

It's the first time the Blackhawks and Ducks are playing since last season's Western Conference Final, won by the Blackhawks in seven games.

Wagner had been sent to San Diego of the American Hockey League on Oct. 20 but was recalled Monday and will play right wing on the Ducks' fourth line. Chris Stewart will come out of the lineup as coach Bruce Boudreau continues looking for combinations that work.

He'll look to bring energy to the Ducks by being physical and looking to fire up his teammates with a well-placed hit or two. Can that help the Ducks, who have scored six goals in their first seven games?

"We'll see," Boudreau said. "We're hoping. Last year he did that for us, and hopefully this year he can too."

CHICAGO -- The Tampa Bay Lightning have nearly the same roster they had in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, but there could be one noticeable difference against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, NHLN, SN1, SUN, WGN).

Rather than going with top goalie Ben Bishop, who's started the first eight games of the season, the Lightning are expected to play rookie goalie Kristers Gudlevskis in their first return to Chicago since the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup here in Game 6 on June 15.

Gudlevskis, 23, was officially recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Saturday. If he starts, it will be the second regular-season start of his NHL career.

"There's always ways to find some intelligence on guys, but certainly at the same time, you want to make sure you don't change too much of the mindset (of) traffic, second opportunities (and putting) as many pucks to the net as possible," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after the morning skate. "They defend well and check well. (There's) not a lot of time and space. We want to make sure we're taking advantage of the shots we get."


CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks are about to get a better gauge of what life is like without defenseman Duncan Keith for a lengthy stretch.

The defending Stanley Cup champions will play the Florida Panthers at United Center on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, FS-F), and it will be Chicago's first game since Keith had surgery on his right knee.

The Blackhawks (3-3-0), who expect Keith to be out 4-6 weeks, have decided to stand pat with the six active defensemen they have.

"Certainly there's a big void in your lineup when you're missing those type of minutes and the predictability that [Keith] gives you at a high level," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after the morning skate. "We use the word patience, or [say], 'We're going to work our way through it with these guys.' But certainly we've been spoiled over the years of having that type of 25 minutes of quality, solid ice time there. Hopefully we won't miss him like that, which could happen, but we're forecasting that these guys are going to be OK."

CHICAGO -- The missing link for the Chicago Blackhawks' top line will be at United Center on Saturday, but Brandon Saad will be skating with the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets instead (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-O, WGN).

Saad, who won the Stanley Cup twice with the Blackhawks, will play in Chicago for the first time since being traded to Columbus in the offseason. He'll receive his 2015 championship ring, which will also be a reminder of what's missing from his former line.

"He's real tough to replace," said Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw, one of five players who have tried to replace Saad at left wing on the top line with Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews. "He's a fast, skilled guy with big, powerful legs and movements, so it's tough to replace a guy like that. But guys are going to step up and do the best they can."

Bryan Bickell, a power forward like Saad, will be the newest player to audition on the top line. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has cycled players through that line and hopes this move clicks.

CHICAGO -- Last season Scott Darling became a darling story in Chicago because of his rags-to-riches path to the NHL.

He took advantage of an invitation to Chicago Blackhawks training camp by earning his first NHL contract, winning the backup goalie job mid-season and helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons.

Now he's ready to prove it wasn't a fluke.

"At the end of the day, a lot of guys have come into the League for 20 games and you've never heard from them again," said Darling, 26, who likely will start against the New York Islanders at United Center on Saturday. "I want to stay here. I want to keep playing here. I want to continue playing. So I'm just trying to stay motivated and excited, and it's not too hard right now."

CHICAGO -- After leaning heavily on his top-four veteran defensemen in the run to the Stanley Cup last season, Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville knows it's time for his young defensemen to show they can handle an increased workload.

The Blackhawks start the season Wednesday against the New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN) with several in the mix. Trevor van Riemsdyk is starting his second NHL season and David Rundblad has only played parts of two four seasons. Ville Pokka, a healthy scratch Wednesday, and Viktor Svedberg, likely to be recalled from the American Hockey League soon, are rookies.

"I don't think anybody has that luxury of just saying, 'We're going to wait, wait, wait,'" Quenneville said. "It's a competitive business here. Everybody wants ice time. Everybody wants more opportunity and greater ice time as well, so their performance will dictate a lot of decisions we make, and I think they're all at a stage of their career where we'd like to bump them up more and get more ice time, and our top guys get down to under 25 minutes a game and distribute it a little bit more."

CHICAGO -- It took longer than Marcus Kruger hoped, but the Chicago Blackhawks center officially arrived at training camp.

Before he could fly to Chicago, Kruger had to wait in Stockholm for his United States work visa to be approved, a process that's usually done during the summer. Kruger, who was a restricted free agent, didn't sign his one-year contract until Sept. 11.

"[It was] just getting my visa [that delayed things]," Kruger said Saturday at United Center prior to a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. "That's always the deal. It takes a little bit. You can't get it before you sign a contract. That's just how it is. Unfortunately, I [missed] the first week here, but I'm here now and happy to be back."

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Center Marcus Kruger was missing from the first day of on-ice work at Chicago Blackhawks training camp Friday at the University of Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena.

Kruger, 25, is still in Sweden while he waits for his U.S. work visa to be processed. J.P. Barry, who represents Kruger through the CAA Sports agency, said the process is going smoothly and Kruger will be in Chicago next week.

"He's got a visa issue," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We expect him to be here next week."

LEMONT, Ill. -- The rain came down in sheets for a few minutes Monday at the Lemont Park District headquarters, soaking a crowd of people and turning Chicago Blackhawks jerseys a deeper shade of red.

Among those caught in the afternoon shower was Blackhawks backup goalie Scott Darling, who sat in the back of an old-fashioned fire truck with the Stanley Cup by his side. It may have rained on his parade, but no amount of water could dampen the mood for Darling, his family or the hundreds who showed up to watch him give the Cup a hometown hoist.

"He and I have watched those 'Day with the Cup' shows on the NHL Network before and were both like, 'Wow, how cool is that?'" said Scott R. Darling, who watched a long line of people wait to get autographs and photos with his son. "To be able to do it and bring it home and share it, I think that's what the Stanley Cup is all about. It's about sharing it with people in your family and in the community where you grew up, and it's just awesome to see the turnout. We had a heavy rainstorm, so there were a lot of wet people, and Scotty got wet too, but it was awesome."

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks again will lean on their stockpile of Stanley Cup Playoff experience with a chance to clinch a championship in Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning at United Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

The Blackhawks lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 and can win the Stanley Cup at home for the first time since 1938.

Those who have won it before are using those past experiences to help the current group focus.