The Chicago Blackhawks travel to Philadelphia Thursday night, looking for a season sweep over the Flyers. The Hawks met the Flyers just over a week ago, where they earned a 3-0 shutout at the United Center.
Despite winning their first meeting of the season against Philadelphia, Chicago will look to break a streak that’s seen them drop 13 straight regular season losses at the Wells Fargo Center. Yeah, that’s right. The Blackhawks haven’t won a regular season game in Philadelphia since November 9th, 1996. However, it’s hard to complain about the lack of regular season wins at Wells Fargo when you think about June 9th, 2010, am I right?
What can the Blackhawks do to break that trend? It’s no news now that Chicago’s offense has been lacking, even with the complete mashup of line changes we’ve seen this season. But, it looks like Joel Quenneville has turned to some old faces to hopefully ignite a spark. Get excited to see the reunion of Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane on the top line Thursday.
Also hoping to add some spark to Chicago’s game, Gustav Forsling is expected to make his return to the lineup against the Flyers, after missing the last three games with an upper body injury.
The Flyers will be without 2017 2nd overall draft pick Nolan Patrick, who has missed six consecutive games with an upper body injury.
The Blackhawks and Flyers enter Thursday’s game with an identical 7-6-2 record, for 16 points apiece, with Chicago sitting in sixth in the Central Division, and Philadelphia in sixth in the Metropolitan Division.
Corey Crawford is likely to get the start for the Blackhawks. Crawford has been outstanding for Chicago so far in this early season, with a league leading 1.77 goals against average, and .945 save percentage.
Brian Elliott is likely to get the nod for the Flyers. In his nine games started this season, Elliott has a 5-3-1 record, with a 3.11 goals against average, and .892 save percentage.
Projected Lineups
Blackhawks
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| F1 | Patrick Sharp – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane |
| F2 | Brandon Saad – Artem Anisimov – Richard Panik |
| F3 | Alex Debrincat – Nick Schmaltz – Ryan Hartman |
| F4 | Lance Bouma – Tommy Wingels – John Hayden |
| D1 | Duncan Keith – Jan Rutta |
| D2 | Gustav Forsling – Brent Seabrook |
| D3 | Connor Murphy – Cody Franson |
| Goaltender | Corey Crawford |
Flyers
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| F1 | Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Jakub Voracek |
| F2 | Travis Konecny – Valtteri Filppula – Wayne Simmonds |
| F3 | Jordan Weal – Jori Lehtera – Dale Weise |
| F4 | Taylor Leier – Scott Laughton – Michael Raffl |
| D1 | Ivan Provorov – Robert Hagg |
| D2 | Brandon Manning – Shayne Gostisbehere |
| D3 | Travis Sanheim – Mark Alt |
| Goaltender | Brian Elliott |
How to watch:
Start time: 6 pm CT
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
TV: NBC Sports Chicago