At the Rink: Blue Jackets at Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- It's been a problem that could again give the Chicago Blackhawks a challenge against the Columbus Blue Jackets at United Center on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-O, CSN-CH).

Despite remaining one of the top teams in the Central Division and Western Conference, the Blackhawks have struggled to consistently win against opponents outside the chase for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Columbus Blue Jackets, winners of four straight games, fall into that category.

They will also be Chicago's fourth straight non-contending opponent, with the Blackhawks losing two of the first three games in the stretch.

"It's just 82 games is a long season and you're not going to be perfect all year," forward Andrew Shaw said after Chicago's morning skate. "You can never take a team lightly, and I think sometimes we did that. We gave up a few points we didn't want to give up."

The result for Chicago is sitting third in Central with nine games left and 94 points. The Blackhawks trail the Nashville Predators by six points for first and remain five points back of the St. Louis Blues for second.

Motivation against teams with worse records seems to be an ongoing issue.

"It goes for anybody right now, whether you're on the verge of missing the playoffs or you're trying to battle your way back into a playoff spot, like some of these teams we've played," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "It's the type of mindset we've got to put ourselves into, even though we're maybe not in the same boat as Columbus right now. Every night is big points for them and for us, as well. We've got to play with that same type of desperation."

The Blue Jackets are playing with good jump of late. Aside from stringing four straight wins together, they're finally getting healthier and have won eight of their past 10 games. Columbus is gearing up to play six of the final nine games against contenders.

"We've had some better consistency to our game," Columbus coach Todd Richards said after the morning skate. "We've had moments where the other team makes pushes, but you're able to respond to it. The other thing is, we've been down in most of the [recent wins]. It's resiliency and finding a way to get yourself back into it, and then finding a way to win hockey games."

The Blue Jackets will get forward Brandon Dubinsky back after he missed four games with an upper-body injury. His return comes soon after forwards Boone Jenner and Jeremy Morin came back from extended absences.

It will be the first time Morin plays against his former team in Chicago since the Blackhawks traded him to Columbus on Dec. 14. He's among a handful of former Blackhawks prospects who now play in the NHL with other teams.

"We've all moved on from [being traded]," Morin said. "We're all grateful for the time we had with the Blackhawks and the organization, but we're all trying to focus on our own careers. We're all in our own situations and I think we're trying to make the most of them and just trying to have success in our careers somewhere else."

Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford will get the start and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will start for the Blue Jackets.

Here are the projected lineups:

BLUE JACKETS

Boone Jenner – Ryan Johansen – Cam Atkinson

Scott Hartnell – William Karlsson – Marko Dano

Brandon Dubinsky – Artem Anisimov – Nick Foligno

Corey Tropp – Mark Letestu – Jeremy Morin

Jack Johnson – David Savard

Kevin Connauton – Cody Goloubef

Fedor Tyutin – Dalton Prout

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Justin Falk

Injured: David Clarkson (oblique), Jack Skille (shoulder), Matt Calvert (concussion), Ryan Murray (lower body), Alexander Wennberg (hand infection), Rene Bourque (upper body)

BLACKHAWKS

Kris Versteeg – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa

Brandon Saad – Brad Richards – Patrick Sharp

Bryan Bickell – Antoine Vermette – Teuvo Teravainen

Andrew Desjardins – Marcus Kruger – Andrew Shaw

Duncan Keith – David Rundblad

Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson

Kimmo Timonen – Brent Seabrook

Corey Crawford

Scott Darling

Scratched: Michal Rozsival

Injured: Patrick Kane (left clavicle), Joakim Nordstrom (upper body), Daniel Carcillo (upper body)

Status report: Kane continues to skate on his own and show progress in his recovery. The expected timetable for his return is still sometime in late May. … Bourque skated on his own and will be reassessed prior to the Blue Jackets' game at St. Louis on Saturday. … Hartnell didn't skate Friday, but will play.

Who's hot: Johansen has points in five straight games, with two goals and four assists. … Shaw has three goals in the past two games.