Philadelphia Flyers (35–30–8) vs Chicago Blackhawks (32–30–10)
7:30pm CST
United Center
TV/Radio: WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (12–15–3, SV%: .907, GAA: 3.06)
Philadelphia – Carter Hart (14–10–1, SV%: .919, GAA: 2.73)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (20.8%, 12th)
Philadelphia (16.7%, 23rd)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.1%, 31st)
Philadelphia (78.6%, 25th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.4, 12th; 35.1, 30th)
Philadelphia (31.5, 18th; 32.4, T21st)
Shooting %
Chicago (10.3%, 7th)
Philadelphia (9.6%, 12th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.3%, T21st)
Philadelphia (54.9%, 1st)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Philadelphia 6’1” 197lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Dylan Sikura–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Brendan Perlini
Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–Dominik Kahun
Chris Kunitz–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook
Philadelphia Flyers
Oskar Lindblom–Sean Couturier–Jakub Voracek
James Van Riemsdyk–Nolan Patrick–Claude Giroux
Michael Raffl–Scott Laughton–Travis Konecny
Phil Varone–Corban Knight–Ryan Hartman
Andrew MacDonald–Shayne Gostisbehere
Analysis
After dropping a heart-breaker against the Canucks on Monday, the Blackhawks return to game action on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. The Blackhawks left a big point on the table against the Canucks and there’s little doubt the players are feeling the regret of not capturing that second point.
The Canucks presented the perfect “trap game” scenario for the Blackhawks who, on paper, are clearly the better team. However, despite playing the night before, the Canucks came out as the better team for most of the game.
The Blackhawks currently sit four points back of the Coyotes for the final wild card spot. There is no doubt that Thursday’s game is important, especially with the two games this weekend on the horizon against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Philadelphia Flyers are in a similar position to the Blackhawks. The Flyers are six points out of the final wild card spot in the East and, despite being sellers at the deadline, have continued to play well enough to remain in the hunt.
A pleasant surprise for the Flyers has been young goaltender Carter Hart. The 20-year old goalie has given stability to the Flyers’ goaltending situation, after the team set the record for most goalies used in a season with eight.
The Flyers have just as much to play for as the Blackhawks do. There is no doubt the Flyers and former Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman will come out “guns-a-blazing” on Thursday. It’s up to the Blackhawks to play the way they did in the final ten minutes of regulation against Vancouver in order to win these meaningful games down the stretch in hopes of making the playoffs.