The Blackhawks attempt to break a now 3-game losing streak tonight in Edmonton. Nearing the midpoint of the season, the Hawks desperately need to right the ship.
Chicago Blackhawks (17-14-5) at Edmonton OIlers (17-18-2)
8PM Central/9 Mountain
RADIO: WGN 720
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
PROJECTED GOALIES:
Chicago:
Anton Forsberg (1-5-3, 3.33 GAA, .902 SV%)
Edmonton:
Cam Talbot (14-11-1, 2.89 GAA, .907 SV%)
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:
Chicago
Saad-Toews-Hartman
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Kane
Sharp-Kampf-Hayden
Bouma-Wingels-Panik
Keith-Oesterle
Forsling-Rutta
Murphy-Seabrook
Edmonton
Lucic-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Kaira-Draisaitl-Strome
Maroon-Nugent Hopkins-Caggiula
Cammaleri-Letestu-Kassian
Nurse-Russell
Sekera-Benning
Davidson-Larsson
STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:
Power play:
Chicago 13.9% (29th)
Edmonton 21.9% (9th)
Penalty kill:
Chicago 82.8% (11th)
Edmonton 73.7% (31st)
Corsi For % (5-on-5):
Chicago 52.9% (6th)
Edmonton 53.0% (4th)
Faceoffs:
Chicago 48.5% (24th)
Edmonton 49.4% (20th)
SUMMARY:
From bad to worse?
Coming off their third straight loss, the Hawks are packing up and heading from the temperate rainforest of Vancouver to the frozen (quite literally) tundra of Alberta to face the Oilers tonight.
Compounding matters, center Artem Anisimov appears to be out for “a while” according to Head Coach Joel Quenneville last night. Expect either Richard Panik or Vince Hinostroza to play tonight. Maybe both if Q decides to “rest” someone else.
Chicago did not play well last night, and they really haven’t their last two games. Tonight, they face a fast team on a fast ice surface. The key for the Hawks will be to play their game, without leaving themselves vulnerable by forgetting their defensive responsibilities.
A win would do a lot for this team’s psyche and confidence. Another loss? Well, it pushes the entire organization a tick closer to some hard conversations and tough decisions about what can be realistically achieved this season.
We’ll recap tomorrow AM.
Follow: @jaeckel