Chicago Blackhawks (30-33-8) @ Buffalo Sabres (22-36-12)
12:00PM Central
RADIO: WGN 720
TV: WGN, MSGB
PROJECTED GOALIES:
Chicago:
Jean-Francois Berube (2-3-0 W-L | 3.47 GAA | 0.904 SV% | 0 SO)
Buffalo:
Chad Johnson (7-11-3 W-L | 3.33 GAA | 0.894 SV% | 0 SO)
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:
Chicago:
BRANDON SAAD – JONATHAN TOEWs – PATRICK KANE
ALEX DEBRINCAT – NICK SCHMALTZ – JOHN HAYDEN
PATRICK SHARP – DAVID KAMPF – VINCE HINOSTROZA
TOMAS JURCO – ARTEM ANISIMOV – MATTHEW HIGHMORE
DUNCAN KEITH – CONNOR MURPHY
ERIK GUSTAFSSON – BRENT SEABROOK
JORDAN OESTERLE – JAN RUTTA
Buffalo:
SCOTT WILSON – RYAN O’REILLY – SAM REINHART
ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS – JACK EICHEL – JASON POMINVILLE
BENOIT POULIOT – EVAN RODRIGUES – NICK BAPTISTE
JORDAN NOLAN – JOHAN LARSSON – JUSTIN BAILEY
MARCO SCANDELLA – RASMUS RISTOLAINEN
BRENDAN GUHLE – CASEY NELSON
NATHAN BEAULIEU – VIKTOR ANTIPIN
STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:
Power Play:
Chicago 15.7% (28th)
Buffalo 17.4% (24th)
Penalty Kill:
Chicago 80.8% (14th)
Buffalo 79.0% (21st)
Corsi FOR % (5-on-5):
Chicago 52.83% (4th)
Buffalo 46.96% (29th)
Faceoffs:
Chicago 49.8% (17th)
Buffalo 51.7% (6th)
SUMMARY:
The Blackhawks are in the middle of a “three games in four day” stretch of games. To be honest, the trip did not start off well at all. That said, Buffalo is a team that they should beat almost every time, but this year has been the opposite of normal. JF Berube has been the slightly better goalie and he gets the start after Anton Forsberg’s rough start in Winnipeg.
This game could be entitled “The race for the bottom” with both teams out of the playoff race, yet hot in a race for more draft lottery balls. With eleven more Blackhawks games to go, a loss would not be the worst thing in the world.
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