Blackhawks @ Islanders, Numerology

Chicago Blackhawks (63 pts, 28-7-7) @ New York Islanders (33 pts, 13-21-7)

6 pm CDT, Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY

TV : CSN Chicago

Radio : 720 AM WGN

Blackhawks' last game : 1-0 W vs Kings

Islanders' last game : 5-3 W @ Bruins

Enemy Territory : Lighthouse Hockey

Season Series/Schedule

DATE	SCORE	W. GOAL
Jan 02 '14
Oct 11 '13	NYI 2 at CHI 3	M. Handzus

57 : The number goals the Islanders have given up in the 2nd period, the most in the NHL.

45 : The number of assists collectively by the Islanders defensemen, just nine more than Duncan Keith has by himself.

26.3 : The Blackhawks road power play percentage, the best road power play in the NHL.

21 : The number of games the Islanders have trailed after two periods this year. The Blackhawks have only trailed after the 2nd period ten times.

13 : The number of wins the Islanders have this season, the Blackhawks had 12 in the month of November.

11 : The number of points scored (5 G, 6 A) scored by Kyle Okposo during his seven game scoring streak.

7 : The number of assists from Duncan Keith in the last four games.

3.29 : The Islanders' goals against average, the second highest in the NHL. Only Edmonton's 3.36 is worse.

2-4 : The Islanders' record versus the Central Division this year.

1 : The number of regulation loses in the last ten games for the Blackhawks. (7-1-2)

Probable Blackhawks Lineup

Forwards

Patrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Kris Versteeg - Michal Handzus - Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell - Andrew Shaw - Brandon Saad
Brandon Bollig - Marcus Kruger - Ben Smith

Defensive Pairings

Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson - Johnny Oduya
Nick Leddy - Michal Rozsival

Goaltender

Corey Crawford (17-6-3, 2.47 GAA, .907 save %, 0 SO)

Injuries

Nikolai Khabibulin (lower body) out

Leading Scorers

PLAYER	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PP	GW
P. Kane	42	23	30	53	+11	12	9	6
P. Sharp	42	22	19	41	+18	22	7	2
J. Toews	42	15	25	40	+16	14	2	0
D. Keith	42	3	36	39	+16	6	2	1
M. Hossa	37	14	20	34	+19	8	2	2

Probable Islanders Lineup

Forwards

Thomas Vanek - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Cal Clutterbuck
Colin McDonald - Ryan Strome - Brock Nelson
Peter Regin -Casey Cizikas - Matt Martin

Defensive Pairings

Thomas Hickey - Andrew MacDonald
Calvin de Haan - Travis Hamonic
Matt Carkner - Brian Strait

Goaltender

Evgeni Nabokov (8-7-5, 2.89 GAA, .903 save %, 1 SO)

Injuries

Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) out, Radek Martinek (back) out

Leading Scorers

PLAYER	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PP	GW
J. Tavares	40	16	28	44	-4	32	4	3
K. Okposo	41	15	25	40	-4	26	3	2
F. Nielsen	41	15	17	32	-7	6	3	0
T. Vanek	38	13	18	31	+0	24	2	1
A. MacDonald	41	3	14	17	-8	26	2	1