The Chicago Blackhawks seek their first win in four tries when they host the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at United Center in Chicago.
Chicago has struggled to find the back of the net during its skid as they’ve been outscored 13-3. The Hawks, who have lost four of their past five games, sit seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They’ll need to find their scoring touch to string together some wins in order to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Patrick Kane, who leads Chicago in scoring with 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists), has found plenty of success against Toronto in his career. Kane has 20 points and eight goals in 14 games against the Maple Leafs. He scored twice and assisted on another goal Jan. 20 against the Islanders to reach 800 career NHL points. It was the first time Kane had scored at home since Dec. 17 against Minnesota.
Hawks goaltender Jeff Glass will make his second straight start. Chicago has flipped between Glass and Anton Forsberg with No. 1 netminder Corey Crawford sidelined with vertigo-like or concussion sysmptoms. Crawford will miss his 13th consecutive game since before Christmas, but could return to the ice soon. He is 16-9-2 with a league-best .929 save percentage.
Glass, 32, is 3-3-1 with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage this season. He never has faced Toronto.
The 32-year-old rookie Glass will have his work cut out for him against a dangerous team. Despite having only one win in their past six games, the Maple Leafs have top-end scoring talent. Auston Matthews, the 2017 Calder Trophy winner, paces Toronto with 36 points (21, 15 assists) in 39 games. Matthews has scored goals in back-to-back games and has four points (two goals, two assists) in three career games against Chicago. James van Riemsdyk is second on the team with 19 goals.
Frederik Andersen will start in net for Toronto. Andersen has posted a 23-14-4 record with a 2.69 GAA and .920 save percentage this season. In seven career outings against the Hawks, he is 2-2-3 with a 2.74 GAA and .908 save percentage.
It’s the second and final regular-season game between the two Original Six franchises. The Maple Leafs took the first game by outlasting the Hawks 4-3 in overtime Oct. 9 in Toronto.
Lineups
Blackhawks
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| F1 | Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Anthony Duclair |
| F2 | Patrick Sharp – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane |
| F3 | Alex DeBrincat – Artem Anisimov – Ryan Hartman |
| F4 | Tomas Jurco – David Kampf – Vinnie Hinostroza |
| D1 | Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle |
| D2 | Erik Gustaffson – Brent Seabrook |
| D3 | Michal Kempny – Connor Murphy |
| Goaltender | Jeff Glass |
Red Wings
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| F1 | Gustav Nyquist – Henrik Zetterberg – Anthony Mantha |
| F2 | Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Andreas Athanasiou |
| F3 | Tomas Tatar – Frans Nielsen – Luke Glendening |
| F4 | Luke Witkowski – Dominic Turgeon – Martin Frk |
| D1 | Dan DeKeyser – Mike Green |
| D2 | Jonathan Ericsson – Nick Jensen |
| D3 | Niklas Kronwall – Xavier Ouellet |
| Goaltender | Jimmy Howard |
How to watch Maple Leafs at Blackhawks
Start time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: United Center, Chicago
TV: NBC Sports Network