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

Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook

Gustav Forsling–Connor Murphy

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

Rasmus Dahlin–Zach Bogosian

Matt Hunwick–Brandon Montour

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.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs Sabres appeared first on The Rink.

6:00pm CST
KeyBank Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (8–8–4, SV%: .888, GAA: 3.87)
Buffalo – Carter Hutton (15–14–3, SV%: .911, GAA: 2.79)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (20.1%, 16th)
Buffalo (16.7%, T23rd)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.1%, 31st)
Buffalo (81.9%, 9th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.4, 17th; 35.0, 30th)
Buffalo (32.3, T11th; 32.6, 24th)

Shooting %
Chicago (9.7%, 14th)
Buffalo (8.8%, 25th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, 17th)
Buffalo (48.6%, T22nd)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Buffalo 6’1” 199lbs

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

Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Slater Koekkoek–Erik Gustafsson

Buffalo Sabres

Jeff Skinner–Jack Eichel–Sam Reinhart

Conor Sheary–Casey Mittelstadt–Evan Rodrigues

Remi Elie–Vladimir Sobotka–Tage Thompson

Zemgus Girgensons–Johan Larsson–Kyle Okposo

Jake McCabe–Rasmus Ristolainen

Rasmus Dahlin–Zach Bogosian

Marco Scandella–Nathan Beaulieu

Analysis

The Blackhawks return from their week-long break to take on the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, New York. Friday’s match up begins a three-game road trip for the Blackhawks, before returning to the United Center on Thursday, February 7th. Friday’s game against Buffalo is the first game of a back-to-back, where the Blackhawks will play in Minnesota on Saturday night against the Wild.

Patrick Kane had a nice all-star weekend playing well in the games (2G, 2A) as well as showing off in the puck control competition, where he was the runner-up to Johnny Gaudreau. On Friday, Kane will return home to Buffalo, New York, where he will have the opportunity to register his 900th career point against his hometown team.

Expect a few lineup changes, notably on the blue line. On Thursday, January 31st, defenseman Henri Jokiharju was sent down to Rockford. It would not be surprising to see the Blackhawks audition defensemen for possible trades as the deadline approaches in the next month.

The Buffalo Sabres have faded of late. In their last 25 games, the Sabres are 8-13-4 which makes them the third-worst team in the NHL since American Thanksgiving. The Sabres have not been the same team that they were in the beginning of the season, where at one point, they led the Atlantic division.

The Sabres are coming off their own back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday after taking on the Blue Jackets and Stars on the road. After a big 5-4 win in Columbus on Tuesday, the Sabres were shutout in Dallas 1-0 against the Stars on Wednesday. The Sabres will look to get their momentum going, as Friday’s tilt against the Blackhawks begins a seven-game home-stand for the Sabres.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Chicago Blackhawks at Buffalo Sabres appeared first on The Rink.