Quick Hitter Preview: Blackhawks at Avalanche

Hawks at Avalanche - 12/21/18

Author:
Jonnie Nonnie
Publish date:
Dec 21, 2018 12:39 PM EST

Coming off a 5-2 victory in Dallas, the Blackhawks will play their second road game in as many days when they visit the Colorado Avalanche tonight. The Avs last played on Wednesday night, defeating the Canadiens 2-1 at home. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM central time.

Three Things

Colorado's top line is on an absolute tear this season. Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen have combined for 155 points. The Hawks must be extremely careful in their own zone when this line is on the ice.
Erik Gustafsson continued to show why he's a legitimate offensive threat from the blue line by scoring a power-play goal at the end of the first period last night. He now has eight goals and ten assists on the season, good for fifth-best point producer on the Hawks.
Connor Murphy took an elbow to the face in the third period of last night's game, causing him to bleed profusely on the ice. Head coach Jeremy Colliton said Murphy was "feeling fine" after the game, so he should be in the lineup tonight.

Projected Lineups

Blackhawks

*The Hawks did not have a morning skate, so these lineups are based on what we saw last night in Dallas. Collin Delia could possibly make his first Blackhawks appearance this season if Colliton does not want to play Ward on back-to-back nights.

Saad - Toews - Kahun

Strome - Anisimov - Kane

DeBrincat - Kampf - Sikura

Hayden - Johnson - Perlini

Keith – Gustafsson

Forsling – Seabrook

Dahlstrom – Murphy

Ward

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