Chicago Blackhawks (7-7-2) at Carolina Hurricanes (6-5-3)
7PM Eastern/6PM Central
RADIO: WGN 720
TV: WGN/Fox Sports CAR
GOALIES:
Chicago:
Anton Forsberg (0-1-2, 4.26 GAA, .895 save%)
Carolina:
Scott Darling (4-3-3, 2.35 GAA, .910 save%)
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:
Chicago
Saad-Toews-Panik
Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane
Bouma-Kero-DeBrincat
Sharp-Wingels-Hartman
Keith-Franson
Murphy-Seabrook
Forsling-Rutta
Carolina
Aho-Staal-Teravainen
Skinner-Ryan-Lindholm
McGinn-Rask-Williams
Nordstrom-Kruger-Jooris
Slavin-Pesce
Fleury-Faulk
Hanifin-van Riemsdyk
STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:
Power play:
Chicago 12.9% (30th)
Carolina 13% (29th)
Penalty kill:
Chicago 85.2% (6th)
Carolina 78.6% (22nd)
Corsi For % (5-on-5)
Chicago 50.4% (13th)
Carolina 56.5% (1st)
Faceoffs:
Chicago 49.0% (22nd)
Carolina 52.0% (6th)
SUMMARY:
What would, in “normal” Blackhawks seasons, be seen as nothing more than an early season reunion of ex-Blackhawks in an otherwise winnable road game, can’t be seen that way tonight.
Not a “must-win” for the Blackhawks, but a game where a win would be a huge relief and perhaps something to turn around the psychology of the team.
Sure, Carolina is stacked with ex-Hawks: Scott Darling, Marcus Kruger, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Teuvo Teravainen and Joakim Nordstrom, but more importantly, they’ve become a pretty good and deep team, coming off a road win over Columbus last night.
Joel Quenneville has gone back to what appears to be a more sensible set of lines and pairings.
Blackhawk backup netminder Anton Forsberg needs to have a good game in net tonight after a weak outing in Colorado recently.
Look for a recap tonight or early tomorrow.
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