Corey Crawford will start and Bryan Bickell will be a healthy scratch as the Chicago Blackhawks host the New York Rangers on Sunday night at the United Center.
Crawford made 46 saves before denying all three of the Edmonton Oilers‘ skaters in the shootout round for a 2-1 victory on Friday. Sunday night will be his third straight start as the Blackhawks look for a perfect three-game homestand. Chicago is 4-1-0 over their past five games.
Crawford is 1-2-0 with a 2.39 goals-against average in his career against the Rangers.
Antoine Vermette delivered his first shining moment in a Blackhawks sweater, scoring the game-winner in the third round of the shootout Friday. Vermette, acquired Monday from Arizona at the trade deadline, will play in just his third game Sunday.
Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, picked up in a trade with Philadelphia, logged 14 minutes, 49 seconds of ice time in his second outing for Chicago. Timonen did not practice this weekend, but is expected to play.
Johnny Oduya returned to practice but is not expected to play until the Blackhawks hit the road against the Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks.
Along with Bickell, Andrew Desjardins will be a healthy scratch. Desjardins was played over Teuvo Teravainen on Friday night for team to get their first look at him since he was acquired. Teravainen skated with Brandon Saad and Vermette on Saturday. He also was on the second power-play units during drills.
| Versteeg | Toews | Hossa |
| Saad | Vermette | Teravainen |
| Sharp | Richards | Carcillo |
| Nordstrom | Kruger | Shaw |
Chicago is four points ahead of fourth-place Minnesota, which hosts Colorado on Sunday. The Blackhawks are also four behind the St. Louis Blues for second place, who are idle.
Opponent Breakdown: New York Rangers
The Rangers have lost two of their last there games after a four-game win streak came to an end. The team has grabbed a point in 15 of their last 17 games.
New York fell 2-1 in overtime to Detroit in their most recent outing. Dan Girardi scored the lone goal of the game for the Rangers. Cam Talbot made 29 stops in the loss, who turned aside 31 shots in a win against the Blackhawks on Feb. 27 in the Big Apple. He has started 14 of the last 15 games for the blue shirts while No. 1 goaltender Henrick Lundqvist recovers from a sprained blood vessel in his neck.
Rick Nash has 60 points in 62 games this season. Nash’s 38 goals trails only Alex Ovechkin, and his line mates pack an offensive punch too. Derick Brassard has 37 assists and 50 points, while Mats Zuccarello ranks fifth on the team with 38 points.
The Rangers acquired defenseman Keith Yandle from Arizona in a multi-player, multi-pick deal before the trade deadline. Yandle has yet to post a point in his first two appearances with the blue shirts. He leads all NHL defesenman with 26 points on the man advantage and he’s second in the league with 37 assists.
Injury Report
Chicago: Johnny Oduya (upper-body) and Patrick Kane (collarbone)
New York: Henrik Lundqvist (strained blood vessel)
Game Information
When: 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center
TV: NBCSN
Radio: WGN-720
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