The Blackhawks and the Sharks have been heading in complete opposite directions since we last saw them on February 5th. The Hawks won the first meeting 5-3 after goalie Corey Crawford gave up 3 early goals but recovered for the victory. Crawford will not start in net for the Hawks tonight. He is listed day to day with an upper body injury. I am pretty sure we can thank Brent Seabrook for this injury. Late in the 3rd period of Tuesday’s game versus the Ducks, Bobby Ryan was pushed into Crow, by Seabrook, and it looked like Crawford took a knee to the head. According to Coach Q, Crawford didn’t “feel great” after yesterday’s practice. Ray Emery will get the start tonight and Henrik Karlsson has been called up from Rockford for tonight’s game. Karlsson was acquired from the Calgary Flames a couple of weeks ago and this is his first time in a Blackhawks uniform. Q also noted that Marian Hossa will get a chance in the Hawks next shootout to try and give them a spark. Try scoring some power play goals and you shouldn’t have to worry about your shootout lineup.
The Sharks have not been very good since they won seven straight games to start the season. They averaged nearly 4 goals a game during that streak. They have only scored seven total goals in their last six games (0-3-3) and three of them came against the Blackhawks. The Sharks couldn’t find the back of the net with a tour guide and a GPS right now. Patrick Marleau has completely disappeared after scoring 9 goals and 4 assists in his first five games. He has one goal and assist in the eight games since. San Jose’s power play looked unstoppable scoring 11 goals in their first five games. They only have three in the eight games since. Antti Niemi will get the start in net tonight. Nemo has not given up a goal in regulation since Patrick Kane’s game winning goal back on the 5th, yet he has no wins to show for it.
Chicago Blackhawks probable lineup:
Forwards
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp – Dave Bolland – Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell – Andrew Shaw – Viktor Stalberg
Michael Frolik – Marcus Kruger – Jamal Mayers
Defensive Pairings
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Johnny Oduya
Michal Rozsival – Nick Leddy
Goaltender
Ray Emery 3-0-0, 2.60 GAA , .920 save %, 0 SO
Injuries
Corey Crawford (upper body) OUT, Daniel Carcillo (knee) OUT
Leading Scorers
P. Kane 20 pts (9 G, 11 A)
J. Toews 13 pts (6 G, 7 A)
M. Hossa 12 pts (6 G, 6 A)
P. Sharp 12 pts (2 G, 10 A)
B. Bickell 7 pts (2 G, 5 A)
San Jose Sharks probable lineup:
Forwards
Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Ryane Clowe – Logan Couture – Tim Kennedy
Scott Gomez – Michal Handzus – Tommy Wingels
T.J. Galiardi – Adam Burish – Martin Havlat
Defensive Pairings
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Dan Boyle
Brad Stuart – Brent Burns
Douglas Murray – Justin Braun
Goaltending
Antti Niemi 6-1-3, 1.74 GAA, .935 save %, 1 SO
Injuries
Andrew Dejardins (flu) OUT
Leading Scorers
P. Marleau 15 pts (10 G, 5 A)
J. Thornton 15 pts (3 G, 12 A)
J. Pavelski 14 pts (6 G, 8 A)
L. Couture 11 pts (6 G, 5 A)
D. Boyle 8 pts (2 G, 6 A)