Montreal Canadiens (14–10–5) at Chicago Blackhawks (9–16–5)
5:00pm CST, 6:00pm EST
United Center
TV/Radio: NHLN,NBCSCH/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (5–13–1, SV%: .902, GAA: 3.22)
Montreal– Carey Price (10–8–4, SV%: .899, GAA: 2.96)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (11.5%, 31st)
Montreal (14.1%, 29th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.2%, 29th)
Montreal (78.3%, 18th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.8,13th; 33.7, 26th)
Montreal (34.3, 4th; 30.7,10th)
Shooting %
Chicago (8.3%, 28th)
Montreal (9.1%, 20th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (50.0%,16th)
Montreal (46.9%, 30th)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Montreal 6’0” 195lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–David Kampf
Dominik Kahun–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Alexandre Fortin
Andreas Martinsen–Marcus Kruger–John Hayden
Duncan Keith–Henri Jokiharju
Erik Gustafsson–Connor Murphy
Brandon Manning–Brent Seabrook
Montreal Canadiens
Jonathan Drouin–Max Domi–Andrew Shaw
Tomas Tatar–Phillip Danault–Brendan Gallagher
Paul Byron–Jesperi Kotkaniemi–Artturi Lehkonen
Kenny Agostino–Michael Chaput–Matthew Peca
Brett Kulak–Shea Weber
David Schlemko–Jeff Petry
Mike Reilly–Jordie Benn
Analysis
Chances are Chicago will be playing form behind tonight. The Blackhawks have surrendered the first goal in nine consecutive games. Even good teams would struggle always playing from behind.
Jonathan Toews currently holds a three-game point streak (2 goals, 1 assist). Toews also currently ranks third, in the league, in faceoff percentage at 58.2%. The captain has been one of the few bright spots this season.
Playing his first game of the year, Connor Murphy should be one to watch. The 25-year old defenseman is a welcome addition to a struggling defense, even if Murphy has been inconsistent in the past. A shakeup on the backend is definitely needed.
Montreal is 6–4–3 on the road this season. Max Domi, acquired from Arizona, leads the team in goals (13), assists (17) and points (30). The 23-year old already surpassed his goal total from last season (9).