The Chicago Blackhawks are in the Motor City to take on the Detroit Red Wings, a rivalry that used to be one of the best in sports but is lukewarm now.
The Red Wings had their three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night with a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. Defenseman Moritz Seider scored the opening goal for the Wings, bringing his season total to 13 points (3 G, 10 A) in 21 games, second on the blue line in production only behind Shayne Gostisbehere, who sits at 18 points (5 G, 13 A) in 20 games. Gostisbehere was injured early in the third period after the defenseman was hit into the boards, and it’s unknown if he’ll play against Chicago. Robby Fabbri had a goal and assist, Andrew Copp had two assists, and Ville Husso made 38 saves during the game as well.
The Rangers game was the second one in a row in which Alex DeBrincat didn’t register a point after he’d had six (3 G, 3 A) in the previous five games — so cue the extreme revenge game for The Cat. He’s currently second on the team with 20 points (12 G, 8 A) in 21 games. The Wings were also without their leading scorer, Dylan Larkin, who is out for undisclosed reasons and will not play against the Blackhawks on Thursday.
As the Wings did not having a morning skate Thursday, there’s no information on whether or not their lines will be shaken up after Wednesday’s defeat, but here’s what Detroit rolled out against New York:
Detroit did make a splash in the news recently with the Tuesday signing of Patrick Kane, who hasn’t played yet this season while recovering from a hip resurfacing surgery. Many thought the timing of the signing was so that Kane could face his former team — even coach Luke Richardson had this thought — but it sounds like he won’t be game-ready until next week. The next opportunity for the Blackhawks to take on Kane is when Detroit comes to Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 25.
Connor Bedard discussed how “weird” it’ll be for everyone to see Kane playing with a team that isn’t the Blackhawks:
The Blackhawks closed out their recent three-game homestead with a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken, when four different players — Boris Katchouk, Jason Dickinson, Tyler Johnson, and MacKenzie Entwistle — scored for Chicago. The most impressive part of the game was how well the Blackhawks shut down the Kraken offensively after it became a one-goal affair — and especially when Chicago was down two mean for 63 seconds late in the third period. It was yet another instance of the Blackhawks allowing more than 35 shots on net but, luckily, Petr Mrazek was on top of his game and finished with a .917 save-percentage.
Joey Anderson had his first career multi-point game in the NHL with two assists, bringing his total to three in three games. The 25-year-old may not be in the long-term plans for the Blackhawks, but it’s great that they’re getting contributions from lower-line players as the team figures out its identity.
As for the lines on Thursday night, they’re the same from the Kraken game, including Mrazek getting his second straight start:
Anthony Beauvillier, who the Blackhawks traded for on Tuesday, is going through the always-present visa issue process and has not joined the team yet. He may be able to play on Saturday when the Blackhawks are in Winnipeg to face the Jets, since it’s in Canada.
Cole Guttman, who was a late scratch on Tuesday, is apparently dealing with an upper-body injury, and Jarred Tinordi is being evaluated to see if he can play again soon. Hopefully, whenever Tinordi is ready, it doesn’t break up the Wyatt Kaiser and Isaak Phillips rookie partnership that has been quietly the most effective defense pairing recently.
How to watch
When: 6 p.m. CT
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Webstream: ESPN+