After a brutal 8-3 home loss to the Golden Knights on Tuesday night, the Blackhawks hope to rebound against one of the league’s best in the Jets on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
The Blackhawks have been outscored in the first period 11-1 during the last four games, going down by at least two goals in each contest.
Despite the loss, Blackhawks newcomers Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini gave a strong first impression. Strome had two points, with one goal and an assist, and logged 15:32 minutes of ice time on the second line with Patrick Kane and his former OHL teammate Alex DeBrincat. Perlini had 12:35 of ice time and was held pointless.
With an assist on Strome’s goal in the second period, DeBrincat was buzzing all across the ice, showing off his speed and skill with the puck. The winger was promoted to the top line with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad late in the third period.
Despite a strong performance, DeBrincat has moved back down with Strome and Kane on the second line during Wednesday’s practice.
Perlini is getting a shot on the top line as John Hayden resumes his spot on the third line, and Andreas Martinsen finds his way back into the lineup. Chris Kunitz continues to rotate as the odd-man out, and rookie Alexandre Fortin also finds himself on the outside looking in.
Corey Crawford let six goal squeak past him, one off a deadly giveaway in the defensive zone. He is now 5-9-1 this season with a .907 save percentage and is the expected starter Thursday.
The Jets are coming off a 4-3 home loss to the Penguins, in their first game back at Bell MTS Place since Nov. 16. Winnipeg has won two of its last five games, scoring 22 goals during that stretch.
The Jets will be without Joe Morrow and former Blackhawk Dustin Byfuglien on Thursday. Sami Niku and former IceHog Cam Schilling will draw into the lineup.
Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in scoring with 29 points, with Mark Scheifele (26) and young stud Kyle Connor (24) right behind him. Ten players currently hold points in the double digits for Winnipeg.
The Jets currently have a 29.6 power-play percentage and a 10.6 shooting percentage, good for second and eighth best in the league. All this team seems to do it score.
Patrik Laine is heating up, with 11 points in his last five games. After scoring five goals on five shots against the Blues (lol) on Saturday, Laine did not record a point against Pittsburgh.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start in net for the Jets on Thursday after allowing four goals Tuesday. Hellebuyck boasts a 9-7-1 record and a .907 save percentage through 17 games.
On the injury front, the Blackhawks announced Tuesday that defenseman Brandon Davidson underwent successful knee surgery, and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
Connor Murphy returned to practice Monday, but hasn’t been cleared for full contact. He participated in drills and line rushes, paired with Duncan Keith as Henri Jokiharju is still absent due to illness. Murphy did not travel with the team, but Jokiharju did.
Projected Lineups
Blackhawks
Saad — Toews — Perlini
DeBrincat — Strome — Kane
Kahun — Kampf — Hayden
Martinsen — Anisimov — Kruger
Keith — Jokiharju*
Gustafsson — Seabrook
Forsling — Rutta
Crawford
Ward
Jets
Ehlers — Scheifele —Wheeler
Connor — Little — Laine
Perreault — Lowry — Tanev
Lemieux — Roslovic — Petan
Morrissey — Trouba
Chiarot — Myers
Schilling — Niku
Hellebuyck
Brossoit
How to Watch
Time: 7 p.m. Central
Location: Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg
TV: NBC Sports Chicago