Buffalo Sabres (30–28–8) vs Chicago Blackhawks (27–30–9)
7:30pm CST
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Corey Crawford (7–15–2, SV%: .897, GAA: 3.39)
Buffalo – Carter Hutton (16–18–4, SV%: .911, GAA: 2.82)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (21.8%, 11th)
Buffalo (19.1%, 18th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (72.8%, 31st)
Buffalo (82.5%, 5th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.1, 14th; 35.0, 30th)
Buffalo (32.8, T7th; 32.8, 23rd)
Shooting %
Chicago (10.3%, 8th)
Buffalo (8.6%, 26th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.6%, T19th)
Buffalo (48.5%, T23rd)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Buffalo 6’1” 198lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun
Brendan Perlini–Artem Anisimov–Dylan Sikura
Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–John Hayden
Slater Koekkoek–Erik Gustafsson
Buffalo Sabres
Jeff Skinner–Jack Eichel–Sam Reinhart
Conor Sheary–Evan Rodrigues–Kyle Okposo
Scott Wilson–Casey Mittelstadt–Jason Pominville
Zemgus Girgensons–Johan Larsson–Tage Thompson
Marco Scandella–Rasmus Ristolainen
Analysis
A pathetic showing on the west coast trip has found the Blackhawks barely hanging on to playoff hopes. Currently, according to a few outlets, the Blackhawks have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs. Sure, there’s a chance, but it’s almost impossible that they make it into the dance.
That said, backup goaltender Cam Ward is out for 7-10 days, requiring Collin Delia to be recalled from the Rockford IceHogs. It is unclear if Delia will be any time in net, so expect to see a heavy dose of Corey Crawford for the length of Ward’s absence.
The Buffalo Sabres present quite a challenge for the Blackhawks on Thursday night at the United Center. The one-time Atlantic-leading Sabres have come screaming back down to Earth, losing eight of their last ten games. It’s unclear what went wrong, but the Sabres looked like they were finally turning the corner early this season. Now, Buffalo sits 11 points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The top players the Blackhawks need to watch out for on Thursday night are Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner, who have developed undeniable chemistry this season on Buffalo’s top line. Eichel has 72 points, while Skinner has 58 points and 36 goals for the year. These two can easily dominate the Blackhawks defense, so they will need to be matched-up with appropriately if the Blackhawks want a win on home ice.