PREVIEW: Blackhawks vs Sharks 12/16

TIME:6:00 p.m. CT
TV:WGN RADIO:WGN 720* ONLINE:
NHL.TV
Team Ambassador Tony Esposito will be on hand at the United Center to sign copies of The Breakaway: The Inside Story of the Wirtz Family Business and the Chicago Blackhawks. The signing will be just outside the Ticket Sales Booth at section 333 ahead of the game against San Jose, from 5-6 p.m.
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The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 win over Dallas on Thursday. They have now won three in a row and five of seven to start the month of December. The Sharks are led in scoring by the duo of Timo Meier (18G, 14A) and Logan Couture (10G, 22A), who each have 32 points in 30 and 33 games respectively.
Brent Burns is in third with 31 points (4G, 27A) in 33 games. Joe Pavelski leads the team in goal scoring with 20.
SEASON SERIES:
This is the first of three meetings this season between the two teams. They will meet again in San Jose on March 3 and March 28. Chicago went 1-1-1 in three games against San Jose last season.
LINEUP NOTES:
The Blackhawks are expected to go with the same lineup tonight as they did against Winnipeg.

Saad-Toews-Kahun
DeBrincat-Strome-Kane
Sikura-Kampf-Perlini
Hayden-Kruger-Martinsen
Defensive pairings:
Keith-Jokiharju
Gustafsson-Seabrook
Dahlstrom-Murphy
Corey Crawford is expected to get the start in net.
OPPONENT TO WATCH:
Logan Couture is off to a great start to the season for San Jose. He's tied with Timo Meier for the team lead in points. Over the last stretch of five games, Couture has two goals and four assists.
Couture was ninth-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft. He has 223 goals and 469 total points in 615 NHL regular season games.