Carolina Hurricanes (6-7-2) at Chicago Blackhawks (6-6-3)
7:30pm Central, 8:30pm Eastern
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN 720
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (3-4-0 W-L, .907 SV%, 2.92 GAA)
Carolina – Scott Darling (0-2-0 W-L, .893 SV%, 3.14 GAA)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (14.0%, T-27th)
Carolina (12.5%, 29th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (76.6%, 23rd)
Carolina (69.8%, 29th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.8, T-10th, 33.5, T-24th)
Carolina (41.6, 1st, 24.3, 1st)
Shooting %
Chicago (9.3%, T-16th)
Carolina (6.3%, 31st)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.4%, 18th)
Carolina (52.3%, 4th)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Carolina 6’2” 198lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Alex DeBrincat–Jonathan Toews–Brandon Saad
Nick Schmaltz–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Andreas Martinsen–Marcus Kruger–Alexandre Fortin
Chris Kunitz–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Duncan Keith–Henri Jokiharju
Erik Gustafsson–Brent Seabrook
Jan Rutta–Brandon Davidson
Carolina Hurricanes
Micheal Ferland–Sebastian Aho–Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele–Jordan Staal–Justin Williams
Jordan Martinook–Lucas Wallmark–Andrei Svechnikov
Brock McGinn–Nicolas Roy–Valentin Zykov
Jaccob Slavin–Dougie Hamilton
Calvin de Haan–Justin Faulk
Trevor van Riemsdyk–Brett Pesce
Analysis
Jeremy Colliton, coaching his first NHL game after the firing of Joel Quenneville, takes over the reigns of the Hawks after a season plus as the head coach of the Rockford IceHogs.
The 33-year old Colliton is tasked with improving the special teams. Both the power play and penalty kill rank in the bottom third of the league, respectively.
On the surface, the Hurricanes look like a great first opponent for a rookie head coach. However, a deeper look at the numbers show Carolina can play in both the offensive and defensive zones (currently 1st in both shots for and shots against).
A little “puck luck” and the Hurricanes could have a completely different record than their 6-7-2 mark. Currently last in the NHL with a 6.3% shooting percentage, a correction to league average would make the Canes a tough offensive threat.
Corey Crawford, on a three-game losing streak, squares off against Scott Darling, having lost both of his starts this season after returning from a lower-body injury. Darling, a Lemont, IL native, was a member of the 2015 Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks.
Comment below in our live game thread tonight!
And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.