NEWSLETTER
For the first of two meetings between the teams this week, the Blackhawks and Avalanche square-up in Denver tonight for their third meeting of the season. Colorado, having won both of the previous games, comes into tonight having won their last six games in-a-row, with their last three games needing overtime or a shootout. Chicago, on the other hand, has dropped their last three games coming into tonight and hold a 15-19-7 record at the mid-way point of the season, seven points behind San Jose in the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference. Colorado leads the Central Division and Western Conference with a 28-8-3 record.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH, ESPN+ (out-of-market)
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (15-19-7)
Hagel – Strome – Kane
DeBrincat – Toews – Lafferty
Kurashev – Dach – Kubalík
Borgström – Carpenter – Entwistle
McCabe – S. Jones
de Haan – Murphy
C. Jones – Gustafsson
Fleury
Avalanche (28-8-3)
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Nichushkin – Kadri – Burakovsky
O’Connor – Newhook – Compher
Jost – Maltsev – Aube-Kubel
Toews – Makar
J. Johnson – Girard
MacDermid – E. Johnson
Francouz
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Tyler Johnson (Three Months – Neck Surgery)
Kevin Lankinen (Day-to-Day – Hand)
Riley Stillman (IR – Upper Body
Reese Johnson (IR – Broken Clavicle)
Jujhar Khaira (IR – Back Spasms)
Avalanche:
Ryan Murray (Day-to-Day – Upper Body)
Darren Helm (Week-to-Week – Lower Body)
Bowen Byram (Day-to-Day – Undisclosed)
Jacob MacDonald (Day-to-Day – Upper Body)
What To Watch For
• The Avalanche are a machine of a team. They come into tonight’s game having won their last six games in-a-row, recorded at least one point in their last 12 games (11-0-1), and their last regulation loss came on December 1 against the Maple Leafs (17-1-2). The Avalanche have 15-straight home wins and have not lost at home since November 3, an overtime loss to the Blue Jackets. They only have two losses in regulation at home this season, both coming in October.
• Colorado comes into tonight with the NHL’s top point-percentage (.756), scoring the most goals-per-game (4.15), and are fifth in the league with 35.1 shots on goal per game.
• Patrick Kane was held off the scoresheet on Saturday night, snapping a nine-game points streak. He still leads the Blackhawks in points this season with 37 in 36 games played. Kane recorded six shots on goal in Saturday night’s shootout loss to the Wild, marking the second time this season Kane has tallied six or more shots on goal in a game without recording a point.
Get Caught Up
Since Dec. 5, Dylan Strome has 9 points and a 56.4% faceoff percentage in 14 games.
His sudden faceoffs dominance is the big positive from his season so far, but his whole game is trending up. Story: https://t.co/sPJi9J1EF0
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 24, 2022
Kevin Lankinen Out 2-3 Weeks With Hand Injury https://t.co/8r2IoH7KM3
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 24, 2022
Blackhawks Rumor Roundup: “Anyone Can Be Had,” But Not Shopping DeBrincat, First-Round Recoup, Fleury, Kubalík, Morehttps://t.co/hiWN64XzKs pic.twitter.com/1SjnL6jJe7
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 24, 2022
With Edzo on the mend, @NOlczyk16 will join Pat Foley again on the TV broadcast tonight. John Wiedeman will fly solo on the radio.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 24, 2022
