Blackhawks seek sixth straight win against Senators

With a 4-1 win over San Jose on Sunday, the Blackhawks extended their win streak to five games, and with the next three games at home, they're hoping to put more space between them and their Central Division competitors. Their next opponents will be the Ottawa Senators, who haven't won at the United Center since 2001.
New Sens head coach Guy Boucher has his team solidly in a playoff position, albeit in an underwhelming Atlantic Division where only one team (Montreal) has a positive goal differential. Ottawa's 4-4-2 record over the last 10 games reflects some of the squad's inconsistencies, from an ugly 8-5 loss to Pittsburgh earlier this month to more convincing outings in their last two games, both wins. On Sunday, Ottawa got three-point efforts from forwards Mark Stone and Zack Smith in a 6-2 win over the Islanders; Stone now has six points (1G, 5A) over his last three games, second on the team.
The Senators will also get forward Mike Hoffman back from a two-game suspension on Tuesday; the 27-year-old led Ottawa with three points in two outings against the Blackhawks last season.

RUSSIAN ALONG
The biggest contributor for the Blackhawks over their five-game win streak has been Artemi Panarin, who has now has points in all five wins (4G, 7A). Per corsica.hockey, he leads the team with a +42 shot attempt differential at even strength over that span, 10 more than the next-highest player, linemate Patrick Kane. He recorded two assists on Sunday for his fourth consecutive multi-point effort and shares third in the NHL entering Monday's schedule with 34 points in 34 games. The 25-year-old was named the NHL's First Star for the week ending Dec. 18 after compiling three goals and seven assists in four tilts.
BLUE-LINE SHOWDOWN
Tuesday's matchup features a two-time Norris Trophy winner on each team's blue line. Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson has once again been the lynchpin for his club at both ends of the ice, leading the team with 30 points (7G, 23A). That shares first among league defensemen, while his 26:57 of average ice time ranks third, and he's been asked to play even more in all situations, with 2:22 of penalty-killing ice time per game to go along with his team-high 3:34 of power-play time. Karlsson notched a pair of helpers for the Sens in their win on Sunday.
For Chicago, Duncan Keith is putting together another consistent season, although it did take him until Sunday to score his first goal of the season. He's added 21 assists on top of that, however, which shares eighth overall in the NHL and ranks second among blueliners. The 33-year-old is well on his way to leading the club in average ice time (25:58, seventh NHL) for the 11th straight year, and has a three-game point streak going with four points over that stretch.
AT THE MIKE
Ottawa's goalie situation has been anything but stable this season, as reliable starter Craig Anderson has taken a leave of absence following wife Nicholle's cancer diagnosis. Former Montreal netminder Mike Condon has taken over in the meantime, posting a 6-3-2 record and very respectable .924 save percentage. He was originally slated for a rest day on Sunday, but found himself suiting up after Andrew Hammond left the game with an ankle injury and made 22 saves on 24 shots to notch the win. Condon has faced the Blackhawks just once, making 31 saves on 33 shots in a 2-1 loss with Montreal last season.
NOTABLE ABSENCES
CHI: Corey Crawford (appendix), Artem Anisimov (upper body, day to day)
OTT: Craig Anderson (personal), Fredrik Claesson (lower body)
LINES

Panarin -- Toews -- Kane
Hartman -- Hinostroza -- Hossa
Rasmussen -- Kruger -- Panik
Motte -- Desjardins -- Tootoo

Keith -- Hjalmarsson
Campbell -- Seabrook
Forsling -- van Riemsdyk

Darling
Johansson