New York Islanders (29–15–4) at Chicago Blackhawks (17–24–9)
7:30pm CST
United Center
TV/Radio: WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Cam Ward (7–8–4, SV%: .884, GAA: 3.99)
New York – Robin Lehner (15–7–3, SV%: .930, GAA: 2.02)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (19.2%, 19th)
New York (16.9%, 24th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.8%, 31st)
New York (79.7%, 18th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.2, 18th; 35.0, 30th)
New York (28.1, 29th; 30.3, 9th)
Shooting %
Chicago (9.8%, 15th)
New York (10.6%, 8th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, T-16th)
New York (48.3%, T-23rd)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
New York 6’2” 209lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Chris Kunitz–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Slater Koekkoek–Erik Gustafsson
New York Islanders
Anders Lee–Brock Nelson–Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier–Mathew Barzal–Josh Bailey
Michael Dal Colle–Valtteri Filppula–Leo Komarov
Matt Martin–Casey Cizikas–Cal Clutterbuck
Analysis
The Blackhawks enter Tuesday’s game after a huge win over the Washington Capitals, 8-5, at the United Center. The top players for the Blackhawks came to play, as their top 5 goal scorers (Kane, Toews, DeBrincat, Saad, Strome) all scored in the impressive win over the defending champs. There’s no doubt that the game was tough. Collin Delia, although sensational, faced 39 shots. This has been right in line with the average number of shots that the young goaltender has seen since being recalled. It’s difficult to stop every puck when you face 40 shots per game. Impressively, Delia still has a save percentage north of .920 (albeit a 3.00 GAA) which sheds light on how good he has been given how bad the defense has been (30th in the league in shots on goal against).
Patrick Kane looks to continue his hot streak after taking home the NHL Third Star of the Week honors. Kane has 20 points in the month of January and 10 points in his last three games. The Blackhawks will enter the All Star break (and their mandatory week-long break) after Tuesday’s game, returning to action on Friday, February 1st in Buffalo, New York to take on the Sabres.
Since their last meeting with the Blackhawks on January 3rd, the Islanders have been the hottest team in hockey. The Islanders are 8-2 in the month of January, thanks to great depth scoring and quality goal-tending. The tandem of Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss have been sensational behind Barry Trotz’s defensive scheme and eight (yes, you read that right) players with ten goals or more.
The Islanders look to maintain their lead on the Metropolitan division with their ninth win in the first month of 2019. It’s a tight race at the top of the “Metro” with the Islanders, Capitals, Blue Jackets and Penguins all within four points of each other in the Eastern Conference standings. The Islanders will also enter their mandatory break after Tuesday’s game, returning on Friday, February 1st to take on the NHL’s best, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the Big Apple.