PREVIEW: Blackhawks Kick Off Two-Game Trip in Boston

TIME: 6 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH | RADIO: WGN 720 AM & TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish) | STREAM:
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The Blackhawks open up a two-game swing on Thursday night with the first meeting of the season against the Boston Bruins.
It's the first of two meetings between the Original Six franchises in a six-day span and the first of three straight against Eastern Conference foes for Chicago.

TEAM RECORDS

• CHI: 21-29-8, 50 PTS
• BOS: 34-18-5, 73 PTS

HOW TO WATCH

Catch all the action with Stephen Nelson, Colby Cohen and Genna Rose on NBC Sports Chicago with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. Jason Ross Jr. and Nick Olczyk have the call on WGN Radio as well.

VS. BOSTON

The Original Six franchises meet for the first time since Feb. 5, 2020 when the Bruins won in overtime. Alex DeBrincat has goals in his last three games against Boston (3G) and points in four of his six career contests against them (3G, 1A). Patrick Kane also has points in his last three matchups against the club (3A).
Boston visits the United Center to wrap up the two-game season series on Tuesday, March 15.

POINTS ALL AROUND

Ten Blackhawks skaters recorded a point in the 8-3 victory over the Ducks on Tuesday night. Five of those players recorded multi-point contests.
Chicago scored five goals in an opening frame for the first time since Feb. 18, 2019 (8-7 W vs OTT). The Blackhawks scored eight goals in a game for the third time this season, matching the Panthers for the most instances among all clubs. It was the first time this season Chicago had scored eight goals without the help of an empty-net tally.

KANE YOU BELIEVE IT

Patrick Kane posted a career-high six points (1G, 5A) on Tuesday night against the Ducks. He became the first Blackhawks skater to record six points in a game since Bernie Nicholls on Feb. 5, 1995. Only two players in franchise history have recorded more points in a contest: Grant Mulvey (5G-2A-7P on Feb. 3, 1982) and Max Bentley (4G-3A-7P on Jan. 28, 1943). Of the players in franchise history to have registered six or more points in a game, Kane is the only one to do it while also collecting 5+ assists. All of Kane's assists on the night were primary helpers.
He joins Nick Schmaltz (on Saturday) and Jamie Benn (Nov 14, 2013) as the only players in the last 15 NHL seasons (2007-08 to present) with a game of at least 1 goal & 5 assists.
In the process of his six-point night, he recorded his 14th career 60-point season and surpassed the 13 such campaigns by Mike Modano for sole possession of the most among U.S.-born skaters in NHL history.
Kane also became the fourth skater in franchise history to record at least four points in an opening period, joining Grant Mulvey (Feb. 3, 1982 vs STL), Pit Martin (Jan. 30, 1969 at PHI) and Dick Redmond (Dec. 5, 1973 at DET).

STROME RUN

Dylan Strome posted his second hat trick of the season, recorded an assist and won 11 of his 14 faceoffs (79%) against the Ducks on Tuesday. His 79% faceoff win percentage vs. Anaheim was the second highest single-game total of his career (min. 10 faceoffs).
The four-point night extended his point streak to a season-long four games with the last three games being multi-point efforts. He has six games of two or more points since Jan. 26 when he posted his first career hat trick in Detroit. Strome's 11 markers since Jan. 26 share eighth in the league.

CONSISTENT CAT

Alex DeBrincat improved his goal streak to a Blackhawks' season-best four games with his 33rd marker of the season on Tuesday. His 33 goals are sixth in the NHL and his 12 power-play tallies share fourth. He is third in the league with 65 goals since the beginning of last season.
DeBrincat is averaging .57 goals per game this year, just off his career best .62 goals per game which he averaged during the 2020-21 season. The Farmington Hills, Michigan native also added three helpers against the Ducks on Tuesday night and now has seven goals and 17 points over his last 12 games.

MR. JONES

Seth Jones has an assist in three of his last four games. He matched a single-game best with three helpers on Feb. 25 vs. New Jersey. It was his fifth career three-assist game.
He is 11th among league blueliners with 34 assists this season. The Arlington, Texas native has played in 27 or more minutes in 21 games during the 2021-22 campaign. His 25:54 average TOI this season is a career high and fifth in the league. His previous season best came during the 2018-19 season when he averaged 25:49 of ice time per game.