After a quick trip to Washington D.C. to get dropped 4-1 by the Capitals last night, the Blackhawks are back at the United Center to face the Arizona Coyotes for the second time in the last five days.
There’s been some minor changes to both rosters since the last time they saw each other, but nothing big enough that it should alter either team’s trajectory (ie, the toilet) all that much for the remainder of the season.
Arizona traded forward Jason Zucker to Nashville, defenceman Matt Dumba to Tampa (uhhh, Bolts?), and defenceman Troy Stecher to Edmonton. Of the three, only the Zucker move kind of hurts them, as both Dumba and Stecher are essentially below replacement level players at this point in their respective careers. The drop-off for Dumba has been especially steep the last few seasons as his offensive numbers have cratered, which can at least be attributed partially to a slew of injuries.
The Coyotes are 3-6-1 in their last 10, and haven’t played since a 4-0 win against the Red Wings on Friday night — a game in which goaltender Connor Ingram recorded his sixth shutout, which is tied for tops in the NHL this season.
This is the lineup they ran out against Detroit, and it should look pretty similar this afternoon/evening:
The Blackhawks will look slightly different from the team that hilariously somehow put up four (!!!!) power-play goals against Arizona last Tuesday, as forward Anthony Beauvillier was sent to Nashville to go eat barbecue with Zucker, defenceman Nikita Zaitsev returned to lineup against the Capitals on Saturday night, and forward Andreas Athanasiou could draw back into a game for the first time since Nov. 9.
Even though the remaining 18 games don’t mean much, there’s still meaning to be found in them.
Arvid Soderblom’s start last Tuesday was his best game since the Hawks played the Maple Leafs all the way back on Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving — which coincidentally was also his last win (for real). He’s had major issues reading plays and challenging shots all season, and he’s been far too passive while routinely losing his angles in the net. He made a huge save on Clayton Keller that changed the complexion of that game against the Coyotes, and his aggressive play the rest of the way helped the Blackhawks secure the victory. Let’s hope that confidence carries over into this game and he’s able to build off that prior performance.
Speaking of building, the Hawks have a bevvy of other young players who are supposed to be a big part of the future, too, and there are still lessons to be learned and skills to be gained. While I joked about the power play (and will continue to do so forever), it’s showing signs of life, all of the sudden:
And Athanasiou sounds like he’ll be a game-time decision after not quite feeling ready to go last night. It’s been essentially five months to the day since his last game, and not only would his speed be an incredibly welcome addition, but he’s also one of the few forwards on this roster who has the offensive talent to hang with Kurashev and Bedard.
These were the lines they ran yesterday against the Caps:
Let’s go, Hawks.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Coyotes
44.00% (31st) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 48.85% (21st)
42.83% (31st) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 49.08% (23rd)
2.0 (32nd) — Goals per game — 2.92 (t-24th)
3.58 (29th) — Goals against per game — 3.3 (23rd)
46.1% (31st) — Faceoffs — 45.6% (32nd)
12.7% (32nd) — Power play — 22.6% (t-12th)
77.2% (24th) — Penalty kill — 77.7% (t-21st)
How to watch
When: 5 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
TV: NBC Sports Chicago, NHL Network
Webstream:
Radio: WGN 720