Gustav Forsling will play when the Chicago Blackhawks hit the ice against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night at the United Center.
Forsling missed the last two games with an upper-body he sustained Oct. 24 against the Flames.
For the sixth time this season, both the Blackhawks and Chicago Cubs will be in action on the same night. Here’s how the Hawks have fared when that happens:
Blackhawks’ record when the Cubs aren’t playing: 0-3-1
Blackhawks’ record when the Cubs are playing at the same time: 5-0-0
So weird.
— Second City Hockey (@2ndCityHockey) October 31, 2016
Two key contributors to that success are Richard Panik and Artem Anisimov. Both players are tied for the most goals in the NHL this season, and have provided offense where others have failed to produce. But as nice as it’s been to see both Anisimov and Panik start hot, we don’t think that will last all season.
The good news about the surge in offense from some unexpected places is that coach Joel Quenneville has been able to shift lines around to help players find their stride. Players like Jonathan Toews, who is coming off his first goal of the season Sunday, and Patrick Kane have been showing promising signs of offensive production since Coach Q added them to the top line last Friday.
One area the Hawks (5-3-1) are starting to build more confidence is the penalty kill, where the team has killed off five consecutive penalties in the last two games. Calgary has struggled when at a man advantage, as they have only scored in 10.8 percent of their chances (fourth worst in the NHL).
As for Calgary (4-5-1), they come into the contest having won three of their last four. Former Hawks Michael Frolik and Troy Brouwer have helped kickstart the Flames offensively, and look to win another game in the United Center.
For more on the Flames, check out Matchsticks and Gasoline.
Lineups
Blackhawks
Forwards
Richard Panik – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane,
Artemi Panarin – Artem Anisimov – Marian Hossa
Tyler Motte – Marcus Kruger – Nick Schmaltz
Vincent Hinostroza – Dennis Rasmussen – Jordin Tootoo
Defensemen
Duncan Keith – Brian Campbell
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling – Michal Rozsival
Goalie
Corey Crawford
Scratches: Andrew Desjardins, Ryan Hartman, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Flames
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Alex Chiasson
Kris Versteeg – Sam Bennett – Troy Brouwer
Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Lance Bouma – Matt Stajan – Michael Ferland
Defensemen
Mark Giordano – Dennis Wideman
T.J. Brodie – Deryk Engelland
Jyrki Jokipakka – Dougie Hamilton
Goalie
Brian Elliott
Scratches: None