Scott Darling will make his fourth consecutive start when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at the United Center.
Starter Corey Crawford has yet to return to the the ice and coach Joel Quenneville said he’s showing a little progress. Darling has 1.64 goals-against average and .945 save percentage in three straight starts. Darling has played twice against Dallas this season in relief, allowing just one goal on 25 shots.
Chicago (42-24-7) enters the matchup on a three-game losing streak at home, but remain in third place in the Central Division, trailing Dallas by four points.
Projected lines:
Ladd-Toews-Hossa
Panarin-Anisimov-Kane
Weise-Teravainen-Fleischmann
Desjardins-Shaw-Panik
Keith-Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson-Seabrook
TVR-Rozsival
Opponent Breakdown
Stars | Record: 43-21-9 | 95 points | 1st in Central Division
Dallas is coming off back-to-back wins with a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay last Thursday and a 3-0 shutout against the New York Islanders. The Stars can clinch a postseason berth with a win.
Thursday’s victory wasn’t all happy news for Dallas, as they lost forward Tyler Seguin suffered a cut to his left Achilles tendon. Seguin underwent surgery to repair the tendon and plans to return by the playoffs. He is second in scoring for the Stars with 33 goals, second to Jamie Benn’s 36.
Kari Lehtonen has started the last two games in net for the Stars. He is 21-9-2 and has started seven of the last eight, leading many to believe he has won the starting job over former Blackhawks Antti Niemi.
Projected lines:
Benn-Eakin-Sharp
Nichushkin-Spezza-Eaves
Roussel-Faksa-Hemsky
Sceviour-Fiddler-Ritchie
Russell-Goligoski
Nemeth-Klingberg
Oduya-Johns
Injuries
Blackhawks: Corey Crawford, Marcus Kruger
Stars: Tyler Seguin, Jordan Benn, Jason Demers, Mattias Janmark
How to watch
When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: CSN