7:30pm p.m. CST/5:30pm PST
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (5 – 8 – 1, SV%: .914, GAA: 2.68)
Vegas– Marc-Andre Fleury (12 – 8 – 1, SV%: .913, GAA: 2.33)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (12.6%, 31st)
Vegas (17.7%, 22nd)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (75.0%,T-27h)
Vegas (82.4%, 6th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (33.0, T-7th; 33.1, 27th)
Vegas (33.0, T-7th; 27.2, 2nd)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.2%, 27th)
Vegas (8.3%, 26th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (50.1%,16th)
Vegas (47.6%, 1T-28h)

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

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

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

Vegas Golden Knights

Jon Marchessault–William Karlsson–Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty–Cody Eakin–Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek–Ryan Carpenter–Daniel Carr
William Carrier–Pierre-Edouard Bellemare–Ryan Reaves
Nate Schmidt–Brayden McNabb
Colin Miller–Nick Holden
Shea Theodore–Deryk Engelland

Analysis

Chicago acquired forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini from Arizona for forward Nick Schmaltz on Sunday evening. General Manager Stan Bowman stated after the trade, “We are better today than we were yesterday.” As with any trade, time will tell.

Tonight, the Blackhawks take the ice after defeating the Florida Panthers 5-4 in overtime. The five goals were the first time the Hawks scored more than three in a game since October 25th versus the New York Rangers, a span of thirteen games.

Vegas defeated Chicago all three times last season, which was Vegas’ inaugural season in the NHL. The Golden Knights have played .500 hockey this season, not getting the hot start as last season, when they shocked the hockey world and made the Stanley Cup finals.

Forward Jon Marchessault leads Vegas in goals (10) and points (20), while center William Karlsson leads in assists (12). Winger Max Pacioretty, acquired from Montreal in an off-season trade, currently rides a five-game point streak (6 goals, 1 assists).

Corey Crawford and Marc-Andre Fleury are expected in net tonight. The veterans have combined to raise the Stanley Cup five times in their careers (Crawford-2, Fleury-3).

Henri Jokiharju did not participate in the morning skate, due to an illness, and will be a game-time decision.

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. 

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