NEWSLETTER
It’s felt like much longer than three days since the Blackhawks last took the ice. Tonight, they start a three-game road trip that will see them play three games in four days. Hopefully they rested over their three-day mini-break.
Chicago takes on the Washington Capitals tonight for the first time in Washington in over three years. This is also the first game between the teams since October of 2019. Entering the month of December after a 7-5-0 November (6-3-0 under Derek King), the Blackhawks have climbed out of the cellar of the NHL but still rank in the bottom-third of the league at 7-12-2 on the season. With a 2-7-1 road record this season, the Blackhawks face a Capitals team that is leading the Metropolitan Division at 14-4-5 and has lost just once in regulation at home this season (7-1-3).
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH, ESPN+ (Out of market)
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (7-12-2)
Hagel – Toews – Kane
DeBrincat – Dach – Strome
Kubalík – Borgström – Khaira
Hardman – Slavin – Carpenter
C. Jones – S. Jones
McCabe – Murphy
Kalynuk – Gustafsson
Stillman* (Game-Time decision)
Fleury
Capitals (14-4-5)
Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Protas
Sprong – Eller – Wilson
Hagelin – Dowd – Hathaway
Malenstyn – McMichael – Leason
Fehervary-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
T. van Riemsdyk – Schultz
Vanecek
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
MacKenzie Entwistle (Week-to-Week – Ankle)
Tyler Johnson (Day-to-Day – Neck)
Calvin de Haan (Day-to-Day – Back)
Capitals:
Conor Sheary (Day-to-Day – Upper Body)
T.J. Oshie (Day-to-Day – Lower Body)
Anthony Mantha (Indefinite- Shoulder Surgery)
Niklas Backstrom (Week-to-Week – Hip)
What To Watch For
• Chicago is allowing the league’s fewest goals against in 5v5 play (11) since Derek King took over on November 7. In the past five periods of play for the Blackhawks, they have held their opponent to single-digit shots on goal in four of them. The 22 shots allowed against San Jose were the second fewest in a game this season for Chicago. Washington, on the other hand, leads the league in goals scored (82) and 5v5 goals (61) in 23 games played this year. Alex Ovechkin, on the hunt to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, has 19 goals in 23 games this season, second in the NHL.
• Marc-André Fleury starts in net tonight for Chicago. He is no stranger to the Washington Capitals, playing in the intense rivalry between Washington and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then facing the Capitals in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final with the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury has lost back-to-back starts, but has only allowed four goals on 58 shots faced in those two games. Over his past six games, Fleury is 4-2-0 with a .954 save-percentage and a shutout.
• Chicago’s powerplay over their past 12 games ranks dead-last in the NHL, converting at just a 3.3% rate. The Blackhawks have converted on just one of their last 30 opportunities. They have a new look in the lineup on the powerplay units and face a Capitals penalty-kill that ranks 11th in the NHL at an 83.6% kill-rate and are one of the least penalized teams in the league ranking fifth in times shorthanded per game this season at 2.65 penalty kills per game.
Get Caught Up
Marc-Andre Fleury will start tonight vs. Washington.
Riley Stillman (knee) is a game-time decision. Calvin de Haan (back soreness) is out tonight and listed as day to day. #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 2, 2021
Josiah Slavin will make his NHL debut tonight in Washington. He will center a line with Ryan Carpenter and Mike Hardman.
Reese Johnson will be a healthy scratch. #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 2, 2021
Derek King on having four of his top six (Kane, Toews, Dach, Kubalik) in prolonged goal droughts: "That's why I have a grayness in my beard."
Said he was a streaky scorer himself as a player, and he's trying to keep everyone positive so they don't grip the sticks too tightly.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 2, 2021
Dominik Kubalik, who has zero 5-on-5 goals this season: “Personally, I’m just trying to be positive and do my things. Obviously it’s a little frustrating but that’s just the way it is. You’ve just go to battle through and create your own luck.” #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Vk5xnApp2u
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 2, 2021
Kirby Dach on being one of several players with goal droughts: “I would be lying to you if I said it doesn’t suck but it does. You want to go out there and score goals. That’s what we’re all paid to do, that’s why we’re all on a team. We’ve got to start doing that.” #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/cverhZT9Wq
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 2, 2021
Blackhawks Trade Malcolm Subban to Buffalo Sabres for Future Considerationshttps://t.co/DJP9ooPBqP
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) December 2, 2021
