The Chicago Blackhawks are about to end a six-game road trip. This final game will come against the Detroit Red Wings in Motown.
Of course, any game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings is going to stir up the century-old rivalry between the two.
Chicago and Detroit are rivals in every major sport, but nothing is as intense as the one in hockey. Despite being in opposite conferences now, the bad blood is always remembered.
There is also the Patrick Kane factor. This is Kane’s third season with the Red Wings, following his short cup of coffee with the New York Rangers.
He just returned from injury in Detroit’s most recent game, which is perfect timing ahead of this game against the franchise that took him first overall in the 2007 NHL Draft.
Blackhawks Road Trip Starts With Jonathan Toews And Ends With Patrick Kane
The Chicago Blackhawks started their trip with Jonathan Toews. Now they will end it with Patrick Kane.
Scouting Detroit
The Detroit Red Wings have lost two in a row, but they are still 9-6-0 which is currently good enough for a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have a long way to go before they are a playoff team, but they could finally break the drought if all goes well for them from now until April.
Finnie – Larkin – Raymond
DeBrincat – Compher – Kane
Kasper – Copp – Appleton
van Riemsdyk – Rasmussen – Berggren
Edvinsson – Seider
Chiarot – Sandin-Pellikka
Johansson – Hamonic
Gibson
The Red Wings have some important veterans on their roster, like James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Kane, and Dylan Larkin.
Young stars entering their prime fill out their lineup like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, but they also have up and coming players like Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Jonatan Berggren, and Emmitt Finnie.
This well-balanced group is going to skate in front of goaltender John Gibson, whom the Red Wings acquired during the off-season from the Anaheim Ducks.
Most of their offense goes through their captain, Dylan Larkin, who is projected to skate with Finnie and Raymond. On the second line, Kane plays with former Blackhawk Alex DeBrincat and JT Compher in the middle.
On defense, Seider and Sandin-Pellikka are the ones to keep an eye on if you’re the Blackhawks attacking and defending.
Projected Blackhawks Lines, Defense Pairs, and Starting Goalie
At 7-4-3, the Blackhawks are currently right on the bubble of the playoff mix in the Eastern Conference. They aren’t a lock to make it by any means, but they are continuing to show that they will be a hard team to beat all year long.
Greene – Bedard – Burakovsky
Teravainen – Nazar – Bertuzzi
Moore – Donato – Mikheyev
Dach – Foligno – Lafferty
Vlasic – Rinzel
Kaiser – Levshunov
Grzelcyk – Murphy
Crevier
Knight
Söderblom
The Blackhawks didn’t practice on Saturday, and there was no morning skate on Sunday ahead of this afternoon’s game, so this is all a projection.
Frank Nazar left their most recent game against the Calgary Flames with an injury. He is a game-time decision for this one against the Red Wings. Whether he plays or not, it isn’t a long-term issue, which is a big break for the Blackhawks. If Nazar can’t play, they will still likely go 11/7, but with Sam Lafferty drawing into the lineup.
After Spencer Knight dominated his last two starts, it would make sense to run it back with him, but this is also a great game to get Arvid Soderblom in some game action.
UPDATE: Sam Lafferty will play and Frank Nazar will not. Arvid Soderblom will be the starter.
How To Watch
This game can be found on CHSN in the Chicagoland area, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit for those in Michigan, and on NHL Network for those trying to watch it nationally outside of the two participating markets. WGN Radio AM 720 will carry the Blackhawks feed in Chicago. The puck will drop shortly after noon on Sunday.
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