The Chicago Blackhawks close out their five-game homestead on Sunday as they host fellow standings bottom-dweller, the San Jose Sharks, in a match that is only interesting due to its potential ramifications on the NHL Draft Lottery.
The Sharks enter this Sunday game on a dramatic downturn of late, including a three-game losing streak (all on the road). They lost a close 3-2 game on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, suffered a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, and then fell 4-2 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Columbus game marked the ninth loss out of their last 10 games for the Sharks, who were officially eliminated from the playoffs last Tuesday after the loss to the Flyers, becoming the second team out — behind only the Blackhawks — this season.
The biggest issue with the Sharks is similar to the Blackhawks: they lack many NHL-quality players on their roster. Only one active forward — Mikael Granlund — is above a 0.5 point-per-game pace. Granlund is sitting at just nine goals, but he’s racked up 34 assists in 53 games. It doesn’t help that they’ve been without Logan Couture — who led the San Jose forward group with 67 points (27 G, 40 A) in 82 games last year — almost the whole season, as he’s only suited up for six games due to a recurring groin injury. He’s not expected to be back this season.
One of the few other NHL-quality player, Tomas Hertl, had 15 goals and19 assists in 48 games, before undergoing a Jan. 27 procedure to clean loose cartilage out of his left knee (ew) and he was then traded to the Golden Knights at the deadline, further depleting the lineup.
The Sharks do have two solid third-line level players in young forwards Fabian Zetterlund (32 points in 66 games) and William Eklund (30 in 64) — and prospect call-up Thomas Bordeleau seems to be fitting into that category with five points (4 G, 1 A) in 11 games — but that’s basically it in terms of mild offensive support.
None of their defenders have contributed much in terms of offense or defense this season. Marc-Edouard Vlasic has fallen off a cliff in terms of productivity at either end of the ice, and only Jan Rutta is possibly going to hit the 20-point mark by the end of the season. Again, very comparable to the Blackhawks, who also only have one 20-point defender on the roster.
In net, Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen have basically the same results with .899 and .895 save percentages, respectively, and Kahkonen was another trade deadline export in a trade to New Jersey. That’s below the season average, but they’re seeing the worst quantity and quality of any goalie tandem in the league. Blackwood (undisclosed) has also been on IR since Feb. 28, so goalie prospect Magnus Chrona has played in a handful of games over the last few weeks to slightly worse results (.869 save-percentage).
With no morning skate for the Sharks since they played last night in Columbus, the only lines we have are from Saturday night. Devin Cooley will likely replace Chrona in net, and if that happens, it’d be Cooley’s NHL debut.
The Blackhawks were on a little roll to start this week, winning two straight while scoring 14 goals in those games, but they were blanked 5-0 by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. The sheer number of defensive breakdowns in the first period alone might have been the most in any game this season for Chicago, which is saying something, considering this isn’t a particularly good defensive team. The mental lapses ailed everyone from rookie Kevin Korchinski to veteran Seth Jones, and it was honestly pretty embarrassing to watch.
However, if there was ever a team for the Blackhawks to redeem themselves against, it’s the Sharks: not only are they the only team in the league arguably worse statistically then the Blackhawks, San Jose is coming in on a losing streak and will be tired after playing on Saturday. One of the Blackhawks few wins this season actually came against the Sharks back on Jan. 16, when the team in red beat the Sharks 2-1 in the shootout at the United Center. And despite the frustrating loss to the Kings, the Blackhawks have at least some momentum in their last 10 games, winning three in that span. That’s more than the Sharks can say, anyway.
According to the lines at practice on Saturday, they’ve been shaken up a little — not unexpected after they got all kinds of blended after the first period against Los Angeles and with Lukas Reichel’s return. In the shake up, Tyler Johnson and Nick Foligno traded places on the first and third lines, respectively. Lukas Reichel slotted in on the third while Taylor Raddysh slid to the fourth as a result, and MacKenzie Entwistle is the odd man out.
Colin Blackwell, Jason Dickson, and Joey Anderson are the only trio to remain the same. Petr Mrazek is expected to start in net.
As stated above, this game could have major impact on the future of both teams as they fight to have the best chance to draft Macklin Celebrini, a player who could be a cornerstone for a franchise going forward. So if you find yourself conflicted on whether to root for a win or loss tonight, just know that both are justified: winning is always fun, although lottery odds remain at stake. Instead, just hope for an outcome that is enjoyable to watch — but know there is a greater chance of a loss since I’m recapping.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Sharks
44.49% (31st) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 43.91% (32nd)
43.14% (31st) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 43.02% (32nd)
2.15 (32nd) — Goals per game — 2.20 (31st)
3.57 (30th) — Goals against per game — 3.91 (32nd)
46.8% (29th) — Faceoffs — 48.9% (22nd)
16.1% (28th) — Power play — 20.6% (18th)
77.7% (t-21st) — Penalty kill — 73.9% (29th)
How to watch
When: 5 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Webstream: NBC Sports App, ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720