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Hit ’Em Up Style: Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes Preview

Posted on by L_B_R
Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Chicago Blackhawks wrap up the season with a four-game homestand, starting Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It’s been a little over two months since the Blackhawks last saw the Hurricanes, and not much has changed for the team from Carolina. The Hurricanes are perched atop the Metropolitan Division, having locked up the top divisional seed by sitting 10 points clear of the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins. Only the Colorado Avalanche have put together a better overall season to this point, with the Dallas Stars not far behind, but Carolina remains firmly in that top tier. Same identity, same results: a structured, relentless team that just keeps stacking wins while everyone else tries (and mostly fails) to keep up … at least in the regular season. The Hurricanes have been one of the most dominant regular-season teams over the last several years, but the question always lingers: can they finally get it done in the playoffs?

The Hurricanes’ biggest strength can also double as a weakness come playoff time: their roster is deep, but it lacks a surplus of true game-breakers. Sebastian Aho (1.01 points-per-game), Seth Jarvis (0.94), Andrei Svechnikov (0.88), and Nikolaj Ehlers (0.84) headline the offense, but compared to some other contenders, there isn’t quite the same level of high-end scoring threat spread throughout the top-nine. Carolina’s bottom-six leans heavily toward defense, which can be a winning formula on the road to a Cup — it just hasn’t quite gotten them over the hump yet. On the blue line, Shayne Gostisbehere (0.90) produces like a forward, and K’Andre Miller (0.51) chips in at a respectable rate. But much like the forward group, the Hurricanes’ defense corps is built first and foremost to — you guessed it — defend.

All of this adds up to the Hurricanes boasting the fourth-best offense in the league at 3.54 goals per game. They’ve finished in the top 10 in goals in four of the last five seasons, although this is the highest they’ve climbed during that stretch. The question, once again, is whether this version is finally enough.

The biggest hurdle for the Hurricanes to achieve the ultimate NHL goal is in net: Brandon Bussi is sitting at a basically average save percentage of .892 in 37 games while Frederik Andersen is quite subpar at .870 in 33 games. Not ideal.

The Hurricanes had an optional morning skate in Chicago Thursday, so their exact lines are unknown. Here are what they went with in their previous game:

However, Carolina also recalled a few players from the Chicago Wolves, possibly indicating the Hurricanes will sit some veterans for rest against the Blackhawks.

As for the Blackhawks, they’re essentially living on the opposite end of the standings spectrum. They’re sitting at the bottom of their division, with only the Vancouver Canucks performing worse this season. There’s always a chance a team like the Calgary Flames — or maybe even the New York Rangers — slides down late, but for now, the Blackhawks are once again staring at the second-best lottery odds in the NHL Draft. As frustrating as another season near the bottom of the league has been at times, there have been legitimate positives from the young players — the kind that at least hint at the foundation of a future competitive team. And if there’s any consolation prize to another year in the basement, it’s that the Blackhawks will once again add another high-end piece in the draft to keep building toward that goal.

The young group got a bit of a reset this week, enjoying their first two-day break in about a month after a competitive 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday. The biggest takeaway from that game was the excellence of the five-forward power play, which scored once (yay Frank Nazar) and consistently generated pressure the rest of the night. Whether that formation is a long-term solution to the power play woes that hindered the Blackhawks in the back half of this season is to be determined, but for now, it’s fun to watch.

The Blackhawks also had an optional morning skate Thursday, so here are the lines they rolled at practice Wednesday:

As can be seen above, the main change is that Andre Burakovosky will draw back into the lineup with Sacha Boisvert coming out. The move pushed Nazar back to center so Burakovsky could go on his wing and then Ryan Greene slide down to fourth-line center.

Spencer Knight did not participate in the optional skate Thursday, which likely indicates he’ll be the starter against the Hurricanes.

Tale of the Tape

Blackhawks — Statistic — Hurricanes
45.59% (30th) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 60.05% (1st)
42.41% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 56.12% (1st)
2.55 (32nd) — Goals per game — 3.54 (4th)
3.22 (25th) — Goals against per game — 2.95 (9th)
45.9% (31st) — Faceoffs — 50.2% (16th)
18% (24th) — Power play — 24.7% (5th)
83.9% (2nd) — Penalty kill — 80.3% (12th)
(All stats from this season)

How to watch

When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: CHSN
Webstream: ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720

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