Blackhawks vs. Flyers preview: Chicago goes for 1st regular-season win in Philly since 1996
The Blackhawks look for their third straight victory, and their first win at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia since “Space Jam” was released in theaters.
The Chicago Blackhawks travel to Philadelphia Saturday afternoon to take on the Philadelphia Flyers in a matinee matchup.
The Blackhawks bounced back from a terrible start Thursday night against the Devils, which even had fans booing within the first five minutes of play. With Corey Crawford standing on his head and Marian Hossa truly proving he is an OT hero, the Hawks’ managed to pull out the 4-3 overtime victory. Chicago has now gone into overtime 10 times so far this season, winning seven of those 10. Not too shabby.
Chicago enters Saturday’s matinee game with an impressive 16-6-3 record on the season, giving themselves a four point lead over the Blues in the Central Division.
It was announced Friday that Jonathan Toews has been placed on injured reserved, and will miss his fifth straight game Saturday against the Flyers. The captain skated on Friday, and will be re-evaluated before Sunday’s game against the Jets.
With Toews’ placement on the IR, Chicago activated defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to take the open roster spot, as he is expected to play Saturday in Philadelphia. TVR has not taken to the ice since Oct. 21, after suffering an upper-body injury, and has played just two games this season.
Crawford will get the start for the Blackhawks in Philadelphia, and has a 12-6-2 start on the season, with a .927 save percentage.
Like Chicago, Philadelphia is also coming off of an overtime victory, after edging the Senators in a 3-2 win on Thursday. The Flyers have won their last three games, and have a 12-10-3 record, to put them in fifth in the Metropolitan Division.
Saturday’s matinee game will end the season series for the two teams. In their last matchup, Anisimov, Kane and Panarin combined for 11 points, while Marian Hossa scored his 500th NHL goal in their 7-4 victory. Despite Chicago blowing a 4-0 lead, three consecutive goals from their second line allowed the Hawks’ to avoid a devastating loss.
Chicago has not beaten Philadelphia on the road since Nov. 9, 1996. For the record, that was when No Diggity by Blackstreet was the no. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Maybe that’ll change Saturday afternoon? (Fingers crossed).
For more on the Flyers, visit Broad Street Hockey.
Lineups
Blackhawks
Forwards
Artemi Panarin - Artem Anisimov - Patrick Kane
Ryan Hartman - Vinnie Hinostroza - Marian Hossa
Dennis Rasmussen - Marcus Kruger - Richard Panik
Andrew Desjardins - Nick Schmaltz - Tyler Motte
Defensemen
Duncan Keith – Niklas Hjalmarsson
Brian Campbell - Brent Seabrook
Michal Rozsival - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
Corey Crawford
Flyers
Forwards
Michael Raffl - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek
Travis - Konecny - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read - Pierre-Édouard Bellemare - Dale Weise
Chris VandeVelde - Nick Cousins - Roman Lyubimov
Defensemen
Michael Del Zotto - Mark Streit
Andrew MacDonald - Shayne Gostisbehere
Ivan Provorov - Radko Gudas
Goalie
Steve Mason
*Lines will be updated if necessary
How to watch Blackhawks vs. Devils
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
TV: CSN Philadelphia, WGN
