9:00pm CST
Honda Center
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (6-14-2, SV%: .902, GAA: 3.28)
Anaheim – Ryan Miller (6–3–1, SV%: .929, GAA: 2.36)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (22.3%, 7th)
Anaheim (15.1%, 28th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.3%, 31st)
Anaheim (80.5%, 14th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (32.1, 14th; 35.2, 30th)
Anaheim (27.7, 31st; 33.7, 28th)

Shooting %
Chicago (10.4%, 8th)
Anaheim (7.8%, 31st)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.6%, T18th)
Anaheim (52.0%, 4th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 195lbs
Anaheim 6’2” 203lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun

Brandon Saad–Artem Anisimov–Dylan Sikura

Chris Kunitz–Marcus Kruger–John Hayden

Duncan Keith–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Slater Koekkoek–Erik Gustafsson

Anaheim Ducks

Rickard Rakell–Derek Grant–Corey Perry

Max Jones–Adam Henrique–Troy Terry

Devin Shore–Sam Steel–Jakob Silfverberg

Nick Ritchie–Ryan Kesler–Carter Rowney

Hampus Lindholm–Josh Manson

Cam Fowler–Brendan Guhle

Jaycob Megna–Korbinian Holzer

Analysis

After a quiet trade deadline, the Chicago Blackhawks bring back a nearly identical roster from last game to take on the Ducks in Anaheim. The Blackhawks left four very big points on the table over the weekend after losses to the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. The Blackhawks’ playoff hopes have dwindled substantially over the last two games.

With no significant moves made at the deadline, the Blackhawks made one addition to the roster, and no, not Spencer Watson. The Blackhawks activated Corey Crawford from the IR on Monday, subsequently sending goaltender Collin Delia down to the Rockford IceHogs. Head Coach Jeremy Colliton said Crawford will play at some point in the road trip, but did not explicitly say which game. It’s safe to say that Cam Ward sees the game vs the Ducks and Crawford may draw on Saturday against the Kings.

The Ducks had a very active deadline, however as sellers. The Ducks traded defenseman Brandon Montour to the Buffalo Sabres, returning a first-round pick in 2019 and defenseman Brendan Guhle. The Ducks also dealt Michael Del Zotto to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-round pick.

The Ducks are a very depleted team. Injuries to Ryan Getzlaf, John Gibson and Ondrej Kase have certainly hurt the Ducks chances at having a successful season. However, after the firing of Randy Carlyle, the historic skid where the Ducks lost 20 of 22 games, and an aging core, the Ducks were due for a rebuild. The Ducks have a shot to land either Kaapo Kakko or Jack Hughes and hopefully make a difference for the team next season. The Ducks have numerous quality young players on the way, including Sam Steel, Max Jones and Troy Terry, all of which are seeing NHL time after the all of the injuries the Ducks’ roster has sustained.

Despite the Blackhawks opponent being a bunch of wounded Ducks (pun fully intended), this is a game the Blackhawks cannot afford to lose if they want any chance at making the playoffs as we approach the month of March.

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 at Ducks appeared first on The Rink.

9:30pm CST, 7:30pm PST
Honda Center
TV/Radio: NBCSN/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (5–11–1, SV%: .903, GAA: 3.17)
Anaheim– John Gibson (10–8–4, SV%: .926, GAA: 2.58)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (12.5%, 31st)
Anaheim (17.1%, 23rd)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.5%, 29th)
Anaheim (80.0%, T-13th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.9, 13th; 33.6, 26th)
Anaheim (26.5, 31st; 35.7, 30th)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.6%, 25th)
Anaheim (8.9%, 23rd)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.7%,17th)
Anaheim (50.3%,13th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Anaheim 6’1” 201lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Brendan Perlini
Dominik Kahun–David Kampf–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Alexandre Fortin
John Hayden–Artem Anisimov–Marcus Kruger
Duncan Keith–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling–Erik Gustafsson

Anaheim Ducks

Rickard Rakell–Ryan Getzlaf–Pontus Aberg
Nick Ritchie–Adam Henrique–Daniel Sprong
Andrew Cogliano–Ryan Kesler–Jakob Silfverberg
Kiefer Sherwood–Carter Rowney–Ondrej Kase
Hampus Lindholm–Brandon Montour
Jacob Larsson–Josh Manson
Andy Welinski–Jake Dotchin

Analysis

Chicago travels to Anaheim having lost 15 of 18 games, for the first of a back-to-back on the road, against the Ducks. The Blackhawks look to bounce back after a 3–2 loss on Sunday to the Flames.

Anaheim relies heavily on their top-notch goaltender John Gibson. The 25-year old bails out the Ducks on a nightly basis with his .926 save percentage, as the Ducks give up the most shots per game (35.7) in the league.

Corey Crawford, riding a personal five-game losing streak, will be in net tonight. The Montreal, QC native stopped 38 of 41 shots in his last start against Calgary.

As fans continue to struggle with hope for this team, Chicago finds itself -27 in goal differential, last in the NHL, and nine points out of the last wild-card spot. With that being said, enjoy the game.

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 Ducks appeared first on The Rink.

Anaheim Ducks (5-3-1) at Chicago Blackhawks (4-2-2)

7:30pm Central/5:30pm Pacific

United Center

TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:

Corey Crawford (1-1-0, .941 SV%, 2.05 GAA)

Anaheim:

John Gibson (4-2-1, .949 SV%, 1.91 GAA)

Team statistics:

Power Play

Chicago (11.1%, T-26)

Anaheim (22.7%, T-14)

Penalty Kill

Chicago (70.8%, 28)

Anaheim (77.4%, 18)

Shots for/against per game

Chicago (35.0, 4 – 37.1, 30)

Anaheim (23.8, 31 – 37.9, 31)

Shooting%

Chicago (10.7%, T-12)

Anaheim (10.7%, T-12)

Faceoff%

Chicago (49.6%, 19)

Anaheim (46.9%, 27)

Avg. height/weight

Chicago

6’1” 195 lbs

Anaheim

6’1” 201 lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago

DeBrincat-Toews-Kahun

Schmaltz-Anisimov-Kane

Kunitz-Kampf-Saad

Fortin-Kruger-Martinsen

Keith-Jokiharju

Gustafsson-Seabrook

Davidson-Rutta

Anaheim

Street-Getzlaf-Aberg

Comtois-Henrique-Sherwood

Cogliano-Kesler-Gibbons

Lundestrom-Steel-Rakell

Fowler-Manson

Lindholm-Montour

Pettersson-Sustr

Analysis:

The league’s bottom two teams in shots against face off tonight as the Chicago Blackhawks host the Anaheim Ducks.

Chicago is coming off a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, in which, the Lightning generated 55 shots on goal. This past Sunday, the Ducks lost at home to Buffalo 4-2 while surrendering 45 shots.

With that being said, you may be in for a goaltender’s duel.

Corey Crawford comes off a “goalie win” in Columbus sporting a .941 save percentage, however, Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson has bested Crawford thus far with a .945 percentage.

Defensive commitment needs to be a priority for the Blackhawks. However, it does not all fall on the defenseman.  Better back checking by the forwards, as well as trusting others are taking care of their responsibilities in the defensive zone must improve.

Will the goaltenders stay on top of their games or will the barrage of shots finally catch up to them? Either way, the Blackhawks need to bounce back after a horrendous effort Sunday versus Tampa.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game later tonight or early tomorrow on the-rink.com. 

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