NEWSLETTER
Later tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes will run it back for the second game of their first mini-series of the season.
On Tuesday night, Carolina came away winners in the shootout, finishing 4-3 over the Blackhawks. For Chicago, it was their seventh game in their last eight contests where they have come away with at least one point in the standings. The Hurricanes are second in the Central Division with a .857 points percentage with the Blackhawks sitting in sixth with a .445 points percentage.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH, FS-CR
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (3-4-4, 10 pts)
Janmark – Suter – Kane
DeBrincat – Strome – Kubalík
Hagel – Söderberg – Shaw
Highmore – Kämpf – Suter
Keith – Mitchell
de Haan – Murphy
Zadorov – Beaudin
Lankinen
Subban
Hurricanes (6-1-0, 12 pts)
Teravainen – Aho – McGinn
Niederreiter – Trochek – Necas
Svechnikov – Staal – Foegele
Dzingel – Geekie – Martinook
Slavin– Hamilton
Skjei – Pesce
Fleury – Gardiner
Reimer
Nedeljkovic
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Brent Seabrook (IR – Lower Back)
Zack Smith (IR – Back)
Kirby Dach (LTIR – Out 4-5 months – Wrist)
Alex Nylander (LTIR – Out 4-6 months – Knee)
Jonathan Toews (LTIR – Illness)
Adam Boqvist (Day-to-day – COVID Protocol)
Lucas Wallmark (Day-to-day – COVID Protocol)
Ryan Carpenter (Day-to-day – COVID Protocol)
Hurricanes:
Max McCormick (IR – Upper Body)
Petr Mrazek (Day-to-day – Upper Body)
What To Watch For
• Patrick Kane is always a player to keep your eye on. Tonight is no different. He has 11 points in 11 games this season, leading the team, and four points over his last three games. He is currently sitting in a tie for sixth all-time with Doug Weight for points by US-born players with 1,033 points in his career. Kane’s next point will put him in sixth-place by himself, trailing Joe Mullen (1,063), Keith Tkachuk (1,065), Jeremy Roenick (1,216), Phil Housley (1,232) and Mike Modano (1,374).
• On Tuesday night, rookie Nicolas Beaudin returned from the NHL’s COVID Protocol list and logged 20:01 minutes of ice-time. It was his just his fourth NHL game and looked comfortable in the situations and role that head coach Jeremy Colliton put on him. Look for Beaudin to get another shot playing significant minutes and to be “quarterbacking” the second powerplay unit again tonight.
• Colliton did not disclose lineup changes at today’s optional morning skate, but it appeared that Kevin Lankinen would be getting the night off with Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia in attendance. Lankinen has started seven of the last eight games for the Blackhawks, with Subban getting the only other start in that stretch. It looks like Subban will get his third start of the season against the Hurricanes tonight. He is 0-1-1 with an .889 save percentage and a 3.95 GAA this season.
**Update** Kevin Lankinen is in fact starting his eighth game of the season tonight. He has started eight of the last nine games.
Betting Odds
The Chicago Blackhawks are 1.5 goal underdogs in this one, according to the Draftkings Illinois Sportsbook, with +155 on the money. The PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook, by contrast, has them even lower at +165 (better odds, if you think they’ll win). This is why it’s important to sign up for more than one before placing a bet – not to mention the additional deposit bonuses.
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Get Caught Up …
Colliton won't say who the Blackhawks' lineup is for tonight.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 4, 2021
No Lankinen at #Blackhawks optional a.m. skate. Subban in starter's net.
— Chris Boden (@BodenTweets) February 4, 2021
NHL made changes to its in-arena protocol today and one of them is the removal of all glass behind team benches.
Here’s how it looks at United Center. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/dO3MelzxQR
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 4, 2021
DeBrincat and Strome trying to do the lacrosse-style shot. Strome finally does an impression variation. pic.twitter.com/rlbnE4gv2u
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) February 4, 2021
More Colliton: "We’re still probably passing up a few too many opportunities to shoot. We want to be at the net first of all… That way you create more secondary opportunities, make it harder on the goaltender. That’s something we’ll continue to talk about with the group."
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 4, 2021
"It's pretty special to be paired up with a guy like that, growing up watching him and trying to be like him. Now he's yelling at me for not giving him the puck enough."
– Ian Mitchell on Duncan Keith— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) February 4, 2021
