The Bruins are in Chicago to skate with the Blackhawks tonight at the United Center. The Bruins, who will be without the services of defensemen Mark Stuart (broken sternum) and Dennis Wideman (undisclosed injury), are looking to snap a 2 game skid. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have registered back-to-back shutout wins.
Know Your Enemy
Chicago Blackhawks (21-8-3)
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
SB Nation's Blackhawks Blog: Second City Hockey
Leading Scorer
4 players with 9 goals (Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Kris Versteeg, & Duston Byfuglien)
Goaltending
Injury Report
Boston
Milan Lucic (Out; Ankle)
Mark Stuart (Out; Broken Sternum)
Dennis Wideman (Doubtful; Undisclosed)
Projected Lines
Boston
|
Marco Sturm
|
Marc Savard
|
Michael Ryder
|
|
Daniel Paille
|
Patrice Bergeron
|
Mark Recchi
|
|
Blake Wheeler
|
David Krejci
|
Byron Bitz
|
|
Steve Begin
|
Vladimir Sobotka
|
Shawn Thornton
|
| Zdeno Chara | Derek Morris |
| Andy Wozniewski | Andrew Ference |
| Matt Hunwick |
Johnny Boychuk/ Adam McQuaid
|
Chicago
|
Patrick Sharp
|
Jonathan Toews
|
Marian Hossa
|
|
Dustin Byfuglien
|
Kris Versteeg |
Patrick Kane
|
|
Andrew Ladd
|
John Madden
|
Troy Brouwer
|
|
Ben Eager
|
Colin Fraser
|
Tomas Kopecky |
| Duncan Keith | Brent Seabrook |
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | Brian Campbell |
| Cam Barker/Jordan Hendry |
Brent Sopel
|
Notes:
- Chicago is 14-3-1 at home
- Chicago has allowed just 2.00 goals per game this season
- The top three teams in face-off percentage are also the top three teams in killing penalties and in my opinion that is not a coincidence (Boston, San Jose, & Chicago).
- If you are in Chicago and you are heading to the game, be sure to pick up a copy of "The Committed Indian" game day program and check out my Q&A with Sam Fels from "The Committed Indian" and Second City Hockey (which I also recommend checking out).
- Patrick Kane celebrated his 21st birthday by begrudgingly agreeing to appear at a charity event to restore his image and spending the night listening to a drunk Vince Vaughn tell him how money he is: (no cabbies were harmed in the making of this video)
- This is the first of a 3 game road trip for the B's who will make stops in Chicago, Toronto, and Ottawa in the next 4 days.
- Game starts at 8:30 and can be seen on NESN and NHL Network. Open thread starts at 8:00.
Today's Obligatory Embarrassing Blackhawks Fan YouTube Video (Language NSFW)