CHICAGO -- For a team in any professional sport to succeed, they
must beat less talented teams consistently. That long-known formula
is working for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Looking to extend a pair of winning streaks, the Blackhawks welcome
the Florida Panthers to United Center tonight.
After losing five straight from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6, Chicago
(14-11-5) goes for its third straight victory. The Blackhawks
followed Friday's 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres with
a 3-1 victory Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes.
"We could probably play a little bit better, but at the same time
we found ways to win even when we probably haven't had our best.
... It's huge points for us right now," Blackhawks forward Patrick
Kane told the Chicago Tribune.
More points could follow. Chicago, which defeated the Panthers 4-1
on Nov. 25, has limited Florida to eight goals while winning six
straight at home in the matchup.
Kane snapped a four-game points drought with two assists against
the Coyotes. He also scored last month in South Florida, and has
four goals and eight assists in eight career home games versus the
Panthers.
In 13 games since Nov. 12, Kane leads the Blackhawks with 14 points
(five goals, nine assists), followed by Nick Schmaltz (two goals,
10 assists) and rookie Alex DeBrincat (seven goals, four assists).
Artem Anisimov has notched eight of his team-leading 13 goals this
season in that span.
That could be a problem for Florida (12-14-4), whose 106 goals
allowed are the second-most in the league behind Arizona
While Chicago is getting scoring from multiple sources, the return
of Corey Crawford after missing three games with an undisclosed
injury cannot be overlooked. Crawford has stopped 57 of 60 shots
over the last two games, including a 31-save performance versus the
Coyotes.
"It was another good win for us at home. Something to build off of
and keep going with this," he said.
Crawford is 6-0-2 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .932 save
percentage since Nov. 15. His best outing over that stretch came
versus Florida as he turned aside 37 shots.
Facing the Panthers at United Center, Crawford is 3-0-0 with a 0.91
GAA, a .964 save percentage and one shutout in four games.
Chicago is 9-4-2 against the Eastern Conference in 2017-18.
Florida began a grueling stretch of five road games in nine days by
rallying for a 2-1 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings on
Monday. Vincent Trocheck tied the score with a power-play goal
midway through the third period before Mike Matheson potted his
first goal of the season 2:02 into the extra session.
"I think it's huge for us. Whenever you go on a long trip like
that, it seems like when you win the first game it just gets you
off on the right foot and really creates some momentum going into
the rest of the road trip," Matheson told the Panthers' official
website.
The Panthers are 3-0-1 in their last four road games after starting
the season 3-8-0 away from home.
With his marker on Monday, Trocheck has three goals and five
assists in a five-game points streak. The fifth-year pro leads the
team with 13 goals, and his 31 points are one behind scoring leader
Jonathan Huberdeau.
Trocheck is the only player currently on the Panthers to score in
Chicago with two goals in three games. Aleksandr Barkov, Nick
Bjugstad and Aaron Ekblad each have one assist.
With Roberto Luongo sidelined by a leg injury that is expected to
keep him out of action for what first-year head coach Bob Boughner
has called an extended period of time, the Panthers are going with
James Reimer and rookie Harri Sateri in goal for now.
Reimer made 34 saves against the Red Wings to improve to 6-7-3 with
a 3.61 GAA and .894 save percentage in 17 games (15 starts).
"Reimer was fantastic for us," Trocheck said. "He kept us in the
game with all of those saves."
However, Reimer has allowed 11 goals while losing both career
starts on Chicago's West Side. Sateri, who turns 28 on Dec. 29, has
yet to make his NHL debut.
This season, Florida is 3-2-1 in the second of back-to-back games.
