The Golden Knights saw their seven-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday but now have a chance to start a new streak as they head to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks.
Vegas has an all-time record of 5-0-0 against the Blackhawks and has already picked up two wins against Chicago this season, though the Blackhawks have been much more competitive in recent games despite holding a 1-2-1 record in January.
Patrick Kane leads the Hawks in scoring with 24 goals and 58 points, but Dylan Strome is one to watch as the 21-year-old scored two goals and an assist in the two previous meetings between these teams.
Duncan Keith (illness) participated in today’s morning skate and appears ready to go tonight, though Erik Gustafsson has been the Hawks’ most productive defenseman in recent games, tallying nine assists during his current seven-game point streak.
It appears as though Cody Eakin will return to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game against San Jose. He will skate with Oscar Lindberg and Ryan Carpenter on the third line, while Tomas Nosek will remain on the fourth line. Brandon Pirri is set to skate on the top line, while the All-American line of Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch will be reunited to round out the top six. Valentin Zykov will serve as a healthy scratch after making his Knights debut the other night.
Here are the projected lineups for both clubs:
Golden Knights
Marchessault — Karlsson — Pirri
Pacioretty — Stastny — Tuch
Lindberg — Eakin — Carpenter
Nosek — Bellemare — Reaves
McNabb — Schmidt
Theodore — Engelland
Merrill — Holden
Fleury
Subban
Blackhawks
DeBrincat (#12) — Toews (#19) — Kahun (#24)
Anisimov (#15) — Strome (#17) — Kane (#88)
Saad (#20) — Kampf (#64) — Caggiula (#91)
Hayden (#40) — Kruger (#16) — Perlini (#11)
Keith (#2) — Jokiharju (#28)
Gustafsson (#56) — Seabrook (#7)
Dahlstrom (#63) — Murphy (#5)
Delia (#60)
Ward (#30)
ICYMI, check out the preview for tonight’s game.
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