Blackhawks vs. Red Wings game preview: Christian Ehrhoff makes debut for Chicago

Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff will make his Chicago Blackhawks debut and Corey Crawford will start in net when Chicago visits the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena.

Chicago acquired Ehrhoff from the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Rob Scuderi on Feb. 26. The 33-year-old Ehrhoff has recorded two goals and 10 points in 40 games with the Los Angeles. His best season offensively speaking was 2010-11 with Vancouver Canucks, when he collected 14 goals and 36 assists for 50 points.

Ehrhoff will draw in the third pairing with Trevor van Riemsdyk.

It's the first of two games during five days between the former Central Division rivals. The Red Wings visit Chicago on Sunday, when forward Marian Hossa is expected to return from injured reserve.

The matchup is also the first of a back-to-back for Chicago (39-20-5), who visit Boston on Thursday. Newly-acquired forward Dale Weise is expected to make his Blackhawks debut in the game.

Crawford, who made 28 saves Sunday to match a career-high with 33 wins, has dropped his last two games in the Motor City.

Projected lines:

Ladd-Toews-Shaw
Panarin-Anisimov-Kane
Desjardins-Teravainen-Fleischmann
Mashinter-Rasmussen-Panik

Keith-Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson-Seabrook
TVR-Ehrhoff

Opponent Breakdown

Red Wings | Record: 32-20-11 | 75 points | 4th in Atlantic Division

Chicago cheered for Detroit on Monday as the Red Wings pulled out a 3-2 overtime win at Dallas. Rookie Andreas Athanasiou scored twice and Pavel Datsyuk had the game-winner on the power play.

The Red Wings are flirting with a playoff spot as they look to make their 25th consecutive postseason.

Petr Mrazek is 3-1-1 in his last five starts and should start in net. He has never faced Chicago in his career. Tomas Tatar has found success against Chicago with four goals in five games.

Projected lines:

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader
Nyquist-Sheahan-Tatar
Larkin-Athanasiou-Richards
Helm-Glendening-Jurco

DeKeyser-Quincey
Kronwall-Marchenko
Ericsson-Green

Injuries

Blackhawks: Marcus Kruger, Marian Hossa

Red Wings: Drew Miller, Johan Franzen

How to watch

When: 7 p.m. CT

Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

TV: NBCSN

Live stream: NBC Sports Live Extra