PREVIEW: Blackhawks Host Oilers as Keith, Hjalmarsson Return

TIME: 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH | RADIO: WGN 720 AM & TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish) | STREAM:
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The Blackhawks wrap a season-long six-game homestand on Thursday night as the Edmonton Oilers make their lone visit of the season to the United Center.

TEAM RECORDS

• CHI: 19-27-8, 46 PTS
• EDM: 30-21-3, 63 PTS

HOW TO WATCH

Catch all the action with Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk on NBC Sports Chicago with pregame coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. John Wiedeman, Troy Murray and Paul Caponigri have the call on WGN Radio as well.

VS. EDMONTON

The Blackhawks defeated the Oilers 4-1 at Rogers Place on Feb. 9. Alex DeBrincat paced the team with three points (1G, 2A) in the victory and now has three consecutive multi-point efforts, including back-to-back two-goal games against Edmonton.
Kirby Dach notched his second straight multipoint game against the Oilers as he tallied a marker and an assist and now has points in three straight contests against Edmonton. Dylan Strome (1G, 1A) and Brandon Hagel (1G, 1A) also registered multi-point efforts that evening in Edmonton. Strome has points (2G, 3A) in four of six career games against the Oilers.
Patrick Kane (3G, 4A) has recorded a point in five of his last six games against Edmonton.

KEITH RETURNS

Duncan Keith is scheduled to play in his first game back at the United Center since being acquired by the Oilers in the offseason. The three-time Stanley Cup champion skated in the second-most games (1,192) in team history and won two Norris Trophies as a member of the Blackhawks.
"This is definitely a new experience being in this building as an opponent," Keith
told EdmontonOilers.com
on Wednesday. "But I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be fun and exciting."
"You play with (him) a long time, it's kind of weird to lineup next to him playing on the other team, especially when it was the Olympics and international tournaments, but I'm sure he'll get a great welcoming from the crowd," Kane said Wednesday. "You talk about amazing teammates, he was one of my favorite teammates over the years and loved playing with him, loved being on the ice with him. He was probably a guy you didn't know to be too funny in the media, but he was really funny in the locker room, had his own personality and obviously had an amazing here in Chicago with the Conn Smythe and three Cups and a couple Norris trophies as well. Looking forward to that welcoming for him."
Keith's new Oilers teammates welcomed him back to the United Center for practice on Wednesday in style.

HAMMER LEGACY NIGHT

Another Blackhawks defensive legend will make a return to the United Center on Thursday night as Niklas Hjalmarsson is set to be honored for his 14-season career, including 10 in Chicago. The Hammer retired over the summer after 821 regular-season games.
"The ultimate teammate. Sacrificed the way he threw his body in front of shots," Kane recalled of Hjalmarsson. "You'd be like, 'Oh Hammer is done, he's done after this one,' and then you'd see him out there again next shift. The way he found his role as a defensive defenseman even though he had some offensive skill. Blocked shots, was great on the penalty kill, shut down the top lines on the other team and really took pride in that. He was just a great teammate."

FOUR SET TO RETURN

The Blackhawks are expected to get a boost to the lineup on Thursday night with Jonathan Toews (concussion protocol), Tyler Johnson (neck), Riley Stillman (left shoulder) and Calvin de Haan (groin) are on track to suit up against Edmonton.
Toews and Stillman have been out since late January, while Johnson has been out since late October and became the second NHL player to have artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck in early December.