Vancouver Canucks (30–32–10) vs Chicago Blackhawks (32–30–9)
7:30pm CST
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (12–15–2, SV%: .907, GAA: 3.07)
Vancouver – Thatcher Demko (1–2–0, SV%: .895, GAA: 3.21)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (20.7%, 12th)
Vancouver (14.9%, 29th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.5%, 31st)
Vancouver (81.0%, 14th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.4, 13th; 35.1, 30th)
Vancouver (29.6, 25th; 31.5, 16th)
Shooting %
Chicago (10.4%, 7th)
Vancouver (9.0%, 21st)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.4%, 20th)
Vancouver (49.2%, T21st)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Vancouver 6’1” 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
Vancouver Canucks
Loui Eriksson–Bo Horvat–Nikolay Goldobin
Josh Leivo–Elias Pettersson–Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson–Adam Gaudette–Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller–Markus Granlund–Tyler Motte
Guillaume Brisebois–Troy Stecher
Analysis
Corey Crawford carried the Blackhawks to victory in Montreal on Saturday night. The Montreal-native continued his streak of dominance against the team he grew up rooting for. Now, Crawford may have to put on his red cape once again as the Blackhawks welcome another Canadian foe to the United Center when the Canucks pay a visit.
This game is certainly a trap game for the playoff hopeful Blackhawks. With the Coyotes, Wild and Stars all playing well, the Blackhawks cannot afford to lose a game down the stretch, especially to a team such as Vancouver. The Canucks have nothing to lose, as they are almost all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. It’s teams like these that will derail any potential playoff berth for the Blackhawks.
The line to watch right now is the Strome line. Dylan Strome, Alex DeBrincat and Brendan Perlini have given this team true balance throughout the lineup. Now that Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have been split up, the Blackhawks have three lines that can contribute meaningful scoring.
The Vancouver Canucks are setting themselves up for a high draft pick in this summer’s draft. Once playoff hopefuls, the Canucks fell apart as the season started winding down. The Canucks currently sit third-from-last in the Western Conference with 70 points. It’s safe to say they will not be playing in late April with their current record.
The true bright spot for the Canucks all year has been Elias Pettersson. The sensational rookie has been nothing short of spectacular for the Canucks, as he leads the Canucks in both goals and assists with 27 and 33, respectively. The Blackhawks need to watch out for the young sensation and cannot afford to take the foot off the gas on Monday night, otherwise the Blackhawks playoff hopes could quickly fade.