Toronto Maple Leafs (42–22–5) vs Chicago Blackhawks (30–30–9)
6:00pm CST
Scotiabank Arena
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (10–15–2, SV%: .901, GAA: 3.22)
Toronto – Frederik Andersen (33–14–4, SV%: .922, GAA: 2.62)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (20.9%, 12th)
Toronto (22.5%, 7th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.3%, 31st)
Toronto (80.3%, 17th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.4, 11th; 34.8, 30th)
Toronto (32.2, 14th; 33.1, 25th)
Shooting %
Chicago (10.4%, 8th)
Toronto (11.1%, 3rd)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.4%, 20th)
Toronto (52.8%, 2nd)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Toronto 6’1” 202lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dylan Sikura
Dominik Kahun–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Brendan Perlini
Chris Kunitz–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook
Toronto Maple Leafs
Zach Hyman–John Tavares–Mitch Marner
Andreas Johnsson–Auston Matthews–William Nylander
Patrick Marleau–Nazem Kadri–Connor Brown
Tyler Ennis–Frederik Gauthier–Trevor Moore
Martin Marincin–Igor Ozhiganov
Analysis
A big 7-1 victory over the playoff-hopeful Arizona Coyotes certainly has boosted the morale of the Chicago Blackhawks as they head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. After a huge game by Brendan Perlini, it is clear that the “tryout period” for some players on this roster is paying off. It’s hard to imagine the Blackhawks not trying to retain Perlini, especially after Bowman traded for Perlini and Dylan Strome after giving up, at the time, prized piece Nick Schmaltz. Dominik Kahun is another player who is taking his opportunity and using it properly after a solid showing on Monday.
The Blackhawks have played very well defensively the last three games. Although still allowing 39, 27 and 25 shots, respectively, during their three game win streak, they are finding ways to allow Corey Crawford to make the routine save. There has been some encouraging play from a few members on the defense over these last three games. The Blackhawks will look to carry that momentum into Wednesday’s game against one of the league’s best, the Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic division, despite being on pace to have the best regular season ever in club history. The Eastern Conference has been very strong this year with teams such as Tampa, Boston and Toronto all looking like Stanley Cup favorites heading into mid-March. The Maple Leafs are 3-1-1 over their last five games, with a 6-2 regulation loss to Tampa being their last game played on Monday. Nonetheless, the Maple Leafs are one of the best teams the Blackhawks will play all season long.
The first time these teams met, it was a shootout with the infamous Auston Matthews mockery of Patrick Kane’s famous celebration, only for Kane to play hero and score two goals to tie the game. The Blackhawks still lost in overtime, but that game was quite an offensive showing for both squads back in October.
Toronto will look to keep pace with the Bruins, who are four points ahead of the Maple Leafs, with a win over the Blackhawks. The Maple Leafs have quite the cushion with eight points separating them and nearest challenger Montreal. The Blackhawks can easily call this a must-win game, as they currently sit six points out of the playoffs with three teams to jump.