Blackhawks look for return to win column vs. Arizona

The Blackhawks will continue their homestand on Tuesday with their first meeting of the season against the Arizona Coyotes. Chicago suffered a 2-1 loss to Winnipeg on Sunday, marking just the third time this season that the team has dropped two games in a row and the club's first home regulation loss since the season opener on Oct. 12. Artemi Panarin scored his 10th goal of the season, connecting beautifully once again with linemate Patrick Kane and reaching the 100-point marker in just his 107th NHL outing.
The Blackhawks will try to get back into the win column against the Coyotes, whom they've dispatched routinely over recent years, going 9-1-2 in their last 12 meetings. While Chicago is still holding onto first place in the Central, Arizona has been mired at the bottom of the Pacific Division almost from the beginning of the season; the Coyotes have gone 0-2-2 in their last four games, and overall the results point to subpar team defense and goaltending (35.4 shots allowed per game, 30th NHL and 3.13 goals allowed per game, 29th NHL).
The Coyotes arrive in Chicago after suffering a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, getting outshot 34-18 and letting in two power-play goals on six shorthanded stints.

POWER OUTAGE
The Blackhawks have scored just once in each of their most recent losses, but the offensive struggles date back to the Circus Trip. They've totaled 12 goals over their last eight outings, but seven of those goals came in two games, meaning they've scored one or fewer in the other six; unsurprisingly, they've lost five of those six. Chicago's 28.5 shots-for average over that span hovers around their season average (28.7), which ranks 26th in the league, something Head Coach Joel Quenneville addressed in his postgame comments on Sunday.

Needless to say, with Corey Crawford-arguably the Blackhawks' most valuable player so far this season-shelved after his appendectomy for a couple of weeks, and top-line Jonathan Toews uncertain to return to action this week, the team have their work cut out for them at both ends of the ice.
RADIM WORTHY
Radim Vrbata is now on his third stint with the Arizona Coyotes franchise, the only active player to do so with one club, after spending the previous two seasons with Vancouver, where he compiled 90 points in 142 games. Although the team boasts plenty of young talent at all positions, the veteran forward currently leads the pack with 17 points (8G, 9A) and 69 shots on goal in 24 tilts; he was held without a point in Monday's loss to Columbus, snapping a five-game point streak (2G, 3A). Vrbata played parts of two seasons with Chicago and has 10 goals and 8 assists in 30 career appearances against his former club, not including several important shootout goals.
CAGE MATCH
In the previous two seasons, Scott Darling has been more than just a serviceable backup for the Blackhawks whenever Crawford was unavailable. The 27-year-old went 12-8-4 in a career-high 24 starts last season, posting a .915 save percentage and 2.58 goals-against average. Despite losing each of his last three starts, Darling has stopped 91 of 98 over that span for a .929 SV%, while the team has scored just once in all three of those games.
Louis Domingue started on Monday evening in Columbus, meaning it's veteran Mike Smith who should get the nod on Tuesday in Chicago. Injuries and overall decline have limited his efficiency over his last four seasons, but despite starting just 10 games this season with a 4-2-3 record, Smith has put up a sparkling .930 SV%, including a franchise-record 58-save effort on Saturday at home against Columbus, an eventual 3-2 shootout loss. He's performed well against the Blackhawks throughout his career, with a .921 lifetime SV% and three shutouts.
LINES

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

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

Darling
Johansson