BLACKHAWKS (1-0-0) at BLUES (0-1-0) 8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, NBCSCH, NHL.TV
The Game
The St. Louis Blues hope to avoid losing the first two games to begin a season for the first time since starting 0-1-1 in 2006-07 when they play the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on Saturday. The Blues lost their season opener 5-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The Blackhawks will look to start 2-0-0 for the second consecutive season after a 4-3 overtime win at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Blues forward Alexander Steen will play in his 900th NHL game.
Players to watch
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 57 games against St. Louis. Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko's 14 regular-season goals against the Blackhawks are the most by any player since 2012-13.
They said it
"A little sloppy game last time the other night, but we found a way to come back from down a goal in the third period there and get two points, so that was huge." -- Blackhawks forward Nick Schmaltz "We want to get the season off to a good start. Playing against these division teams, these rivalry teams, we want to get on a board, we want to get that first win, but how we do it is important." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Crawford continues to make progress every day. They hope to have a better idea of how close he is in about a week. ... Bortuzzo returns after a three-game suspension. ... Edmundson was part of an optional morning skate but will not play; he's targeting the game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Stat pack
Toews had two points (one goal, one assist) Thursday; he has 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 53 games against St. Louis. ... O'Reilly has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 31 games against Chicago, including 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 14 games.
