6:30pm CST
Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum
TV/Radio: NBCSN, NBCSCH

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Collin Delia (3–0–0, SV%: .957, GAA: 1.67)
New York – Thomas Greiss (12–7–1, SV%: .917, GAA: 2.63)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (14.8%, 26th)
New York (15.8%, 23rd)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (73.6%, 31st)
New York (77.5%, 21st)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.7, 16th; 34.2, 29th)
New York (28.3, 29th; 31.5, 16th)

Shooting %
Chicago (9.1%, T-20th)
New York (10.4%, 9th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (50.1%, T-15th)
New York (47.6%, T-29th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 198lbs
New York 6’1” 206lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun

Artem Anisimov–Dylan Strome–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dylan Sikura

John Hayden–Marcus Kruger–Brendan Perlini

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

New York Islanders

Anders Lee–Brock Nelson–Josh Ho-Sang

Anthony Beauvillier–Mathew Barzal–Josh Bailey

Michael Dal Colle–Valtteri Filppula–Leo Komarov

Matt Martin–Casey Cizikas–Cal Clutterbuck

Nick Leddy–Johnny Boychuk

Adam Pelech–Ryan Pulock

Devon Toews–Scott Mayfield

Analysis

After a disappointing loss at Notre Dame Stadium to the Boston Bruins, the Blackhawks travel to Nassau Coliseum vs. the New York Islanders. Despite the loss, numerous Blackhawks players and coaches were quoted with their positive outlook on how the team has been playing of late.

Brendan Perlini found his stride during the Winter Classic, scoring his third goal as a member of the Blackhawks, and fifth for the entire season. The fourth line had great possession numbers and a lot of that was driven by Perlini’s play. Look for Perlini to keep rolling heading into Thursday night’s contest in New York.

The Islanders have won their last four games entering Thursday evening’s game. Three of those win have come against Dallas, Toronto and Buffalo, all quality teams at the halfway point of the NHL season.

Despite losing John Tavares during the offseason, the Islanders are only one point out of the final playoff spot (currently owned by the Montreal Canadiens) with two games in hand. This Islanders team has been playing well enough, despite Andrew Ladd, Jordan Eberle and Thomas Hickey all being injured. The “Guys from the Island” will pose a test for the Blackhawks.

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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