NEWSLETTER
They are contractually obligated to play this game tonight and we are contractually obligated to bring you the coverage of the game. Otherwise, tonight’s contest between the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes has no meaning. It’s an opportunity for young players and Collin Delia to show their value to the league and to the Blackhawks and that’s about it. Chicago is 2-3-1 against the Hurricanes this season, but have dropped three of the last four meetings in regulation. After being officially eliminated from Central Division playoff contention with last night’s loss, I just hope the Blackhawks and Hurricanes can finish their games tonight and Thursday without serious incident or anyone getting hurt.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH+, BSSO
Radio: WGN 720 AM / TUDN 1200 AM
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (22-24-6, 50 pts)
DeBrincat – Dach – Kane
Hinostroza – Kurashev – Hagel
Kubalík – Strome – Gaudette
Hardman – Kämpf – Suter
Keith – Kalynuk
Mitchell – Beaudin
Murphy – Zadorov
Delia
Subban
Hurricanes (35-10-7, 77 pts)
Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen
Niederreiter – Trocheck – Necas
Fast – Staal – Foegele
McCormick – Lorentz – Geekie
Slavin – Hamilton
Skjei – Pesce
Hakanpaa – Bean
Mrazek
Nedeljkovic
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Calvin de Haan (Day-to-day – Hip)
Ryan Carpenter (Day-to-day – Concussion)
Brent Seabrook (LTIR – Retirement)
Zack Smith (LTIR – Back)
Andrew Shaw (LTIR – Retirement)
Alex Nylander (LTIR – Knee)
Jonathan Toews (LTIR – Illness)
Hurricanes:
Cedric Paquette (Day-to-day – Undisclosed)
Jake Gardiner (Day-to-day – Back)
Jordan Martinook (Day-to-day – Lower Body)
Brock McGinn (Day-to-day – Upper Body)
What To Watch For
• Collin Delia gets his first start tonight since January 17th. He came into the game last night in relief of Malcolm Subban and made 19 saves on 19 shots in his first NHL action since that January 17th start. He is 0-2-0 with a .891 save-percentage and a 4.03 GAA in his three NHL appearances this season.
• Alex DeBrincat has a point in six of his last seven games against the Hurricanes with four goals and four assists over those six games. DeBrincat also enters the night on a four-game point streak and a three-game goal streak. Since February 2nd, he is tied for second in the NHL with 24 goals, only trailing Austin Matthews.
• Dominik Kubalík tallied a pair of assists in last night’s loss and now has three multi-point games against the Hurricanes this season. He is second on the team with eight points against Carolina this year and his two assists last night put him ahead of his 16 assists last season in 68 games played.
Get Caught Up …
Alex DeBrincat on being eliminated: "Obviously not the spot we want to be in with four games left. We had a good stretch there in the middle of the season, but you’ve got to play the full season."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 4, 2021
"We have a team that can score goals, but when we let up 4 or 5 goals a game it's tough to win like that. … We can learn a lot from Carolina. They battle all game long, even when it's 4-0 they're still battling hard. That's a good team to look at."
– Alex DeBrincat— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) May 4, 2021
Brind'Amour says this year's team might have more overall talent than 2006 Cup team. Says there's a similar swagger and confidence.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) May 4, 2021
