Montreal Canadiens (37–27–7) vs Chicago Blackhawks (31–30–9)
6:00pm CST
Centre Bell
TV/Radio: WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (11–15–2, SV%: .902, GAA: 3.18)
Montreal – Carey Price (29–21–5, SV%: .915, GAA: 2.58)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (20.9%, 12th)
Montreal (12.1%, 31st)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.0%, 31st)
Montreal (80.5%, 17th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.5, 12th; 34.9, 30th)
Montreal (33.5, 4th; 31.0, 12th)
Shooting %
Chicago (10.4%, 8th)
Montreal (8.8%, 23rd)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.3%, 20th)
Montreal (48.8%, T23rd)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Montreal 6’0” 195lbs
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
Montreal Canadiens
Tomas Tatar–Phillip Danault–Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen–Max Domi–Andrew Shaw
Jonathan Drouin–Jesperi Kotkaniemi–Joel Armia
Paul Byron–Nate Thompson–Jordan Weal
Analysis
After nearly blowing a 5-0 lead in their last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Blackhawks travel east to Montreal to face the Canadiens. The Blackhawks played very well early against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, scoring four of their five goals in the first period. The star of the game was certainly Brendan Perlini, who continues to light the world on fire as he is fighting for a new contract next season. Perlini has five goals and two assists in his last five games, this also coming after his two goal performance against the Kings six games ago.
Every game down the stretch is important for the Blackhawks. Colorado’s loss last night would now allow the Blackhawks to jump the Avalanche in the standings with a win in Montreal. The Blackhawks would only be one point back of the Wild with a win, but still four points back of the red-hot Coyotes for the second wild card spot.
The Montreal Canadiens have been a pleasant surprise this year. After the trade of Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi, many fans around the league wondered what the Canadiens were doing. The move paid off as Domi is currently the team’s leading scorer with 62 points. The Canadiens have been a very good team in every major statistic category and, with Carey Price returning to his old form, the team is in a position to make the playoffs in a deep Eastern Conference.
The Canadiens can move into a tie for the second wild card spot tonight with a win against the Blackhawks. Montreal currently sit two points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets, hoping for a chance to make the dance—when most people around the league wrote them off before the season ever began. A Canadiens win tonight would keep Montreal on the outside looking in due to Columbus having more regulation plus overtime wins.
One storyline to watch is Corey Crawford. Crawford has historically been dominant against his hometown team, so expect a solid game out of Crawford after he battled a 24-hour bug that saw him leave Wednesday’s game early.