Quick Hitter Preview: Blackhawks at Oilers

After a pair of weekend wins, the Blackhawks are back in action tonight looking to extend their win streak to five games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers. The teams have met twice so far this season and the Oilers have won both contests. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 PM central time.

Three Things

• Coming into tonight’s game, Patrick Kane and Connor McDavid have identical stat lines – both superstars have posted 31 goals and 45 assists (76 points) so far in the 2018-19 campaign. It will be interesting to see how their numbers compare at the end of the night.
• Drake Caggiula will be facing his former team for the first time tonight. He recorded his first goal as a member of the Blackhawks on Friday night at Buffalo. On the flip side, Brandon Manning will get his first shot at revenge against the team that traded him back in late December.
• Tonight’s contest marks the last of a three-game road trip with an odd travel schedule (Buffalo to Minnesota to Edmonton) for the Hawks. If they can cap it off with another win tonight, it would be an excellent boost heading into Thursday night’s contest against the Vancouver Canucks back in Chicago.

Projected Lineups

Caggiula – Toews – Kane

DeBrincat – Strome – Kahun

Saad – Kampf – Kruger

Kunitz – Anisimov – Hayden

Keith – Seabrook

Dahstrom – Murphy

Koekkoek – Gustafsson

Ward

Delia

Oilers

Lucic – McDavid – Rattie

Rieder – Draisaitl – Chiasson

Khaira – Nugent-Hopkins – Kassian

Malone – Brodziak – Puljujarvi

Klefbom – Larsson

Nurse – Russell

Gravel – Benning

Talbot

Koskinen

Laugh It Off

Patrick Kane has been on an absolute tear as of late. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Month for January and hasn’t slowed down in February. However, Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau may have figured out how to slow him down.

39 points in 19 games. @mnwild coach Bruce Boudreau’s got an idea on how to stop @88PKane! 😂 pic.twitter.com/7knnL1FbD8

— NHL (@NHL) February 4, 2019

Featured Photo: Jason Franson/The Canadian Press