The Blackhawks will play their second game in as many nights when they visit the Devils on Friday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Chicago (11-12-5) jumped out a 3-0 lead then the Bruins stormed back to force overtime before Jonathan Toews scored 57 seconds into the extra session for a 4-3 win. The victory ended a three-game slide for the Blackhawks and snapped Boston’s eight-game winning streak.
Center Dylan Strome had a power-play goal and an assist in his first game back from being out for three games with a concussion. Wingers Drake Caggiula and Andrew Shaw remain in concussion protocol, and the former is eligible to come off long-term injured reserve. Defenseman Olli Maatta (flu) missed Thursday’s game, but could draw back into the lineup.
Corey Crawford will draw back in net after Robin Lehner made 37 saves at Boston. Crawford allowed four goals in his last appearance Monday against the Blues in Chicago. He’s 3-4-1 with a .878 save percentage and 3.49 goals-against average in eight career games against the Devils.
New Jersey (9-14-4) is in a bit of transition after firing head coach John Hynes on Tuesday and naming former Blackhawk Alain Nasreddine interim coach. The Devils fell 4-3 to the Golden Knights in Nasreddine’s first game at the helm that night. New Jersey has been outscored 15-4 during its three-game winless streak.
Nasreddine confirmed first overall pick Jack Hughes will be back in the lineup after missing three games due to injury. Hughes, who has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 24 games this season, will play with Miles Wood and Wayne Simmonds on the third line. Kirby Dach, who was taken third overall by the Blackhawks, has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 22 games.
Mackenzie Blackwood will start between the pipes for the Devils after recording 26 saves Tuesday. He stopped 27 shots in his lone appearance against Chicago on Jan. 14 in the Devils’ 8-5 home win.
Former Blackhawk John Hayden, who was traded at the NHL draft for forward John Quenneville, will be a healthy scratch for the Devils.
Series history
The Blackhawks have lost three of their last four (3-0-1) against the Devils, and haven’t won in regulation in New Jersey since Jan. 3, 2014. The two teams split last season’s series, with the Blackhawks ending a three-game winless streak against the Devils in a 5-2 win in Chicago. Patrick Kane led all skaters in scoring in last season’s series with seven points (three goals, four assists), while New Jersey’s Travis Zajac had four points (two goals, two assists).
Tale of the tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Devils
47.6% (26th) — Corsi For — 48.04% (25th)
48.9% (24th) — Faceoff — 47.4% (28th)
2.79 (22nd) — Goals per game — 2.52 (t-27th)
3.04 (14th) — Goals against per game — 3.63 (2nd)
13.1% (26th) — Power play — 13.1% (28th)
80.7% (17th) — Penalty kill — 76.1% (24th)
Lineups
Blackhawks
Nylander — Toews — Saad
DeBrincat — Strome — Kane
Wedin — Kampf — Kubalik
Carpenter — Dach — Smith
Koekkoek — Murphy
de Haan — Seabrook
Gilbert — Gustafsson
Crawford
Lehner
*Injured: Caggiula (concussion), Keith (groin), Maatta (flu), Shaw (concussion)
Devils
Hall — Hischier — Palmieri
Coleman — Zajac — Gusev
Wood — Hughes — Simmonds
Boqvist — Zacha — Bratt
Greene — Severson
Butcher — Subban
Mueller — Vatanen
Blackwood
Domingue
*Injured: Connor Carrick (finger), Matt Tennyson (upper body)
How to watch
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Prudential Center; Newark, New Jersey
TV: NBC Sports Chicago+, NHL Network
Live stream: NBC Sports Chicago app, NHL.TV