The Blackhawks start a five-game road trip Sunday when they visit the Jets at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg.
Chicago (25-21-8) has lost its past two games in overtime, including a controversial finish Wednesday to the Bruins when a goal was disallowed due to a hand pass. Drake Caggiula appeared to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead with 1:05 remaining in the third period, but the goal was waved off after an official whistled for a hand pass behind the play. The Bruins answered 1:19 into overtime with Charlie McAvoy’s uncontested game-winner.
The Blackhawks haven’t played since then and are now three points back of Winnipeg (28-23-5) for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with two games in hand. The Central Division’s four teams outside of the top three playoff spots are separated by only three points. The Blackhawks’ road trip will be bookended by stops in Winnipeg.
Chicago rookie Kirby Dach had an assist Wednesday to match a career-long five-game point streak with six points (one goal, five assists). His previous five-game point streak had seven points (four goals, three assists) from Nov. 10-19.
Fellow rookie Adam Boqvist will not play after the defenseman exited the game Wednesday with a right shoulder injury when he was hit by David Krejci, who was assessed a minor boarding penalty. Nick Seeler will make his Blackhawks debut.
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who is one point away from 800 in the NHL, hasn’t recorded a point in four straight games after his six-game point streak with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) ended. He has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games against the Jets, his hometown team.
The Jets are flying high having won three of four after a five-game losing streak.
Winnipeg started a six-game homestand with a 5-2 victory against the Senators in a Saturday matinee. Patrik Laine had his first hat trick of the season, scoring each time on the power play, and Kyle Connor had a goal and three assists. Laurent Brossoit made 25 saves for his first win since Dec. 10.
The Jets’ offense is led by the trio of Mark Scheifele, Connor and Laine. Scheifele has a team-leading 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) and Connor is right behind him with 56 points and a team-high 26 goals. Laine’s 23 goals are tied for second with Scheifele and his 51 points are third on the team.
Winnipeg has tightened up defensively lately, limiting opponents to two goals in each of their past five games. The Jets are 20-3-2 this season when allowing two or goals or fewer.
Connor Hellebuyck, who has gone 2-0-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .947 save percentage since the All-Star break, will start in net for the Jets. It’s the third time this season he’s posted a .940 save percentage in three straight starts.
The Jets, who will be playing the second of back-to-back games, have found more success in the first game with a 5-3-0 record compared to a 3-4-0 mark in the second game.
Series history
Chicago has a five-game point streak with two straight wins against Winnipeg. The Blackhawks are 2-0-1 this season against the Jets, and most recently collected a 5-2 victory Jan. 19 in Chicago.
Tale of the tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Jets
48.02% (26th) — Corsi For — 48.2% (25th)
46.2% (29th) — Expected goals for — 43.3% (31st)
2.93 (19th) — Goals per game — 2.95 (18th)
3.04 (t-16th) — Goals against per game — 3.02 (t-13th)
49.6% (17th) — Faceoffs — 49.8% (16th)
15.2% (28th) — Power play — 19.9% (14th)
83% (6th) — Penalty kill — 74.8% (26th)
Projected lineups
*Lineups will be updated after morning skate
Blackhawks
Kubalik — Toews — Caggiula
Saad — Dach — Kane
DeBrincat — Kampf — Strome
Smith — Carpenter — Highmore
Keith — Gustafsson
Seeler — Murphy
Maatta — Koekkoek
Crawford
Lehner
Jets
Connor — Scheifele — Laine
Ehlers — Wheeler — Appleton
Harkins — Copp — Roslovic
Bourque — Shore — Shaw
Morrissey — Pionk
Kulikov — Niku
Bitetto — Beaulieu
Hellebuyck
Brossoit
How to watch
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg
TV: NBC Sports Chicago+
Live stream: NBC Sports app, NHL.TV