Chicago Blackhawks (9–15–5) at Vegas Golden Knights (15–13–1)
9:00pm CST, 7:00pm PST
T-Mobile Arena
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Cam Ward (4–3–4, SV%: .888, GAA: 3.91)
Vegas– Marc-Andre Fleury (15–9–1, SV%: .912, GAA: 2.40)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (12.1%, 31st)
Vegas (19.4%, 15th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.8%, 29th)
Vegas (84.9%, T-2nd)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.7, 13th; 33.6, 26th)
Vegas (33.0, T-7th; 27.6, T-1st)
Shooting %
Chicago (8.6%, 26th)
Vegas (9.0%, T-21st)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.7%,17th)
Vegas (48.6%, T-22nd)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Vegas 6’1” 199lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Brendan Perlini
John Hayden–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Alexandre Fortin
Dominik Kahun–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Duncan Keith–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson–Gustav Forsling
Vegas Golden Knights
Jon Marchessault–William Karlsson–Reilly Smith
Oscar Lindberg–Cody Eakin–Alex Tuch
Daniel Carr–Ryan Carpenter–Tomas Nosek
William Carrier–Pierre-Edouard Bellemare–Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb–Nate Schmidt–
Shea Theodore–Deryk Engelland
Nick Holden–Colin Miller
Analysis
Chicago has surrendered the first goal in eight consecutive games. A better start is needed from the struggling Blackhawks tonight in Vegas.
Erik Gustafsson has played well offensively. The 26-year old Swedish defenseman has three goals in his last five games. However, as assistant coach Barry Smith mentioned between periods last night, Gustafsson needs to develop on the defensive end of the ice.
Expect Cam Ward in net tonight, after Corey Crawford played the front end of the back-to-back last night. Ward stopped 25 of 29 shots in a loss to Nashville five days ago.
Vegas plays a stingy defense, supported by his league leading 27.6 shots against per game, not a good sign for a Chicago team averaging 2.72 goals per game. Scoring balance throughout the lineup has been lacking all season.