Columbus Blue Jackets (3–3–0) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (1–2–1)
7:30 p.m. CDT
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN
Chicago — Robin Lehner (0–0–1, .909 save percentage, 2.96 goals-against average)
Columbus — Elvis Merzlikins (1–0–1, .825 save percentage, 7.00 goals-against average)
Team statistics
Power play
Chicago (22.2%, 13th)
Columbus (16.7%, 23rd)
Penalty kill
Chicago (61.5%, 30th)
Columbus (73.7%, 22nd)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.3, 14th; 33.3, Ninth)
Columbus (33.3, Ninth; 29.0, 27th)
Shooting percentage
Chicago (9.6%)
Columbus (7.0%)
Face-off percentage
Chicago (47.8%, 24th)
Columbus (47.7%, 27th)
Average height and weight
Chicago — 6-foot-1, 198 pounds
Columbus — 6-foot-1, 198 pounds
Projected lines and pairings
Chicago Blackhawks
Alex DeBrincat — Jonathan Toews — Drake Caggiula
Andrew Shaw — Dylan Strome — Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad — David Kampf — Dominik Kubalik
Zack Smith — Ryan Carpenter — Alexander Nylander
Duncan Keith — Connor Murphy
Olli Maatta — Brent Seabrook
Calvin de Haan — Erik Gustafsson
Columbus Blue Jackets
Gustav Nyquist — Pierre-Luc Dubois— Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Alexandre Texier — Boone Jenner— Emil Bemstrom
Sonny Milano — Riley Nash — Jakob Lilja
Zachary Werenski — Seth Jones
Ryan Murray — Markus Nutivaara
Vladislav Gavrikov— David Savard
Analysis:
The Chicago Blackhawks finally notched their first win of the season against the Edmonton Oilers, Monday night, and played its first full solid game of the season. They were solid in all three phases of the game despite not getting many minutes out of their fourth line composed of Alex Nylander, Zack Smith, and Ryan Carpenter. Both Nylander and Carpenter played less than 10 minutes in the contest. If the Blackhawks want to have continued success, they need more contribution from all four lines.
In tonight’s matchup, the Blackhawks are making one significant change to their lineup, which is replacing Corey Crawford with Robin Lehner. Lehner was impressive in his only start this season and is looking to continue the Blackhawks winning away against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets are coming into the United Center riding a two-game winning streak and one forward Sonny Milano highlight-reel goal. Despite the losses of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency, the Blue Jackets, led by head coach John Tortorella, are looking to prove their critics wrong. The Jackets have defeated the lowly Dallas Stars and the Carolina Hurricanes in their last two wins.
With the Blackhawks having discovered their winning formula, the real question is can they sustain it?
Comment below in our live game thread tonight!
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