Home is where the winning is for the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks look to extend their home winning streak to seven games Wednesday when they host the St. Louis Blues in a Central Division showdown for the first time this season.
Chicago (7-5-0) hasn’t lost since its 3-2 setback against the New York Rangers on Oct. 7. The Hawks have outscored their opponents 17-6 during that span at United Center. They entered Monday’s game with a 6-3 scoring advantage after the second period, and three unanswered goals in Monday’s 4-2 win over Los Angeles increased it to 9-3.
The Hawks are 14-1-2 in their last 17 games at home in the series, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Blues won the last game in the series 2-1, but the Hawks were without Patrick Kane, who was recovering from a broken clavicle. Kane has performed well against St. Louis with 29 points in 24 games. He is currently on a seven-game point streak with four goals and six assists.
Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov are trending upward. Panarin has an assist in each of his last three games, while Anisimov has scored a goal in his last two. It will be the first game in the series for both Russians.
Corey Crawford will get the start in net against the Blues. Crawford is 6-3-0 record with a 1.79 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in nine games this season. He is 5-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, .963 save percentage and has posted two shutouts at home.
The Hawks will use the same lineup from Monday’s win over the Kings.
Panarin-Toews-Garbutt
Teravainen-Anisimov-Kane
Dano-Kero-Hartman
Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
Opponent Breakdown
St. Louis Blues | Record: 8-3-1 | Goal differential: +4
St. Louis opens a four-game road trip after a 3-1-1 homestead that concluded with a 3-0 loss to the Kings on Tuesday at Scottrade Center.
Special teams has been an ongoing for the Blues early this season. The Blues went 0-4 on the man advantage and are 0-21 during its past six games. Their power play unit ranks 29th in the league. It’ll be tough for them to improve that mark against the Hawks, who have only allowed one power play goal at home this season.
Vladimir Tarasenko returned to the Blues on Tuesday after missing Saturday’s win over Minnesota with a lower-body injury. The Russian winger leads the Blues in scoring with six goals.
The Blues recalled forward Magnus Paajarvi from the Chicago Wolves of the America Hockey League on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Paajarvi signed a one-year, one-way contract this summer. He has four goals and three assists in seven games with the Wolves.
Former Hawk Troy Brouwer has three goals and five assists in his first season with St. Louis.
Despite a string of injuries, the Blues sit three points back the Dallas Stars for the Central Division lead. Minnesota and Nashville are both one point behind St. Louis.
Brian Elliot is expected to start in net after Jake Allen made 31 saves Tuesday. Elliott is 4-0-1 with a 2.18 GAA this season, and 1-3-1 with a 2.54 GAA in five starts at Chicago.
Here’s the Blues’ projected lineup:
Steen-Lehtra-Tarasenko
Upshall-Backes-Brouwer
Paajarvi-Gomez-Rattie
Ott-Brodziak-Reaves
Injuries
Blackhawks: Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa
Blues: Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk, Patrik Berglund
How to Watch
When: 7 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: NBCSN