NEWSLETTER
The Blackhawks have 12 healthy forwards and seven healthy defensemen on their roster right now. Well, they had 12 healthy forwards…
Captain Jonathan Toews is a game-time decision for Tuesday night’s game in New Jersey because he isn’t feeling well.
If the Blackhawks need to go with seven defensemen, they would effectively be replacing Toews in the lineup with Ian Mitchell. With all due respect to the young defenseman, that’s an awful tradeoff; you’re losing your top center and the best faceoff guy in the entire NHL for a rookie on the back end who’s still working to establish himself in the league.
Further complicating matters is the Devils are really good. They’re 20-4-1, have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and are 9-3-1 on home ice to start this season. And they’ve built an eight-point cushion between them and second-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.
Jersey is averaging 3.72 goals per game, which ranks fourth in the NHL. They’re allowing only 2.28 goals per game, which ranks second behind the Bruins. They are, as the kids would say, a wagon right now. And their lineup is full of kids; they’re one of the youngest teams in the league and play fast.
This game was going to be a huge test for a struggling Blackhawks team. If Toews can’t go…
