Chicago Blackhawks (63 pts, 28-7-7) @ New York Islanders (33 pts, 13-21-7)
6 pm CDT, Nassau Coliseum – Uniondale, NY
TV : CSN Chicago
Radio : 720 AM WGN
Blackhawks’ last game : 1-0 W vs Kings
Islanders’ last game : 5-3 W @ Bruins
Enemy Territory : Lighthouse Hockey
Season Series/Schedule
| DATE | SCORE | W. GOAL |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 02 ’14 | ||
| Oct 11 ’13 | NYI 2 at CHI 3 | M. Handzus |
57 : The number goals the Islanders have given up in the 2nd period, the most in the NHL.
45 : The number of assists collectively by the Islanders defensemen, just nine more than Duncan Keith has by himself.
26.3 : The Blackhawks road power play percentage, the best road power play in the NHL.
21 : The number of games the Islanders have trailed after two periods this year. The Blackhawks have only trailed after the 2nd period ten times.
13 : The number of wins the Islanders have this season, the Blackhawks had 12 in the month of November.
11 : The number of points scored (5 G, 6 A) scored by Kyle Okposo during his seven game scoring streak.
7 : The number of assists from Duncan Keith in the last four games.
3.29 : The Islanders’ goals against average, the second highest in the NHL. Only Edmonton’s 3.36 is worse.
2-4 : The Islanders’ record versus the Central Division this year.
1 : The number of regulation loses in the last ten games for the Blackhawks. (7-1-2)
Probable Blackhawks Lineup
Forwards
Patrick Sharp – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Kris Versteeg – Michal Handzus – Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell – Andrew Shaw – Brandon Saad
Brandon Bollig – Marcus Kruger – Ben Smith
Defensive Pairings
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Johnny Oduya
Nick Leddy – Michal Rozsival
Goaltender
Corey Crawford (17-6-3, 2.47 GAA, .907 save %, 0 SO)
Injuries
Nikolai Khabibulin (lower body) out
Leading Scorers
| PLAYER | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. Kane | 42 | 23 | 30 | 53 | +11 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| P. Sharp | 42 | 22 | 19 | 41 | +18 | 22 | 7 | 2 |
| J. Toews | 42 | 15 | 25 | 40 | +16 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| D. Keith | 42 | 3 | 36 | 39 | +16 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| M. Hossa | 37 | 14 | 20 | 34 | +19 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
Probable Islanders Lineup
Forwards
Thomas Vanek – John Tavares – Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner – Frans Nielsen – Cal Clutterbuck
Colin McDonald – Ryan Strome – Brock Nelson
Peter Regin –Casey Cizikas – Matt Martin
Defensive Pairings
Thomas Hickey – Andrew MacDonald
Calvin de Haan – Travis Hamonic
Matt Carkner – Brian Strait
Goaltender
Evgeni Nabokov (8-7-5, 2.89 GAA, .903 save %, 1 SO)
Injuries
Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) out, Radek Martinek (back) out
Leading Scorers
| PLAYER | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Tavares | 40 | 16 | 28 | 44 | -4 | 32 | 4 | 3 |
| K. Okposo | 41 | 15 | 25 | 40 | -4 | 26 | 3 | 2 |
| F. Nielsen | 41 | 15 | 17 | 32 | -7 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| T. Vanek | 38 | 13 | 18 | 31 | +0 | 24 | 2 | 1 |
| A. MacDonald | 41 | 3 | 14 | 17 | -8 | 26 | 2 | 1 |
