Ducks at Blackhawks preview
Anaheim 2-4-1 in past seven; Chicago looks to gain in wild-card race
by Brandon Cain / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
DUCKS (26-31-8) at BLACKHAWKS (29-28-8)
8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-W, NHL.TV
The Game
The Chicago Blackhawks hope to gain ground in the Western Conference by sweeping the season series against the Anaheim Ducks at United Center on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks trail the Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and Arizona Coyotes by six points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West. Chicago defeated Anaheim 3-2 in overtime Nov. 3 and 4-2 on Jan. 11.
The Ducks are 2-4-1 in their past seven games after going 4-1-2 in their previous seven.
Players to watch
Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf has 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in 45 games against Chicago.
Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik has six points (four goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. The rookie leads Chicago with 29 goals.
They said it
"It's tougher than you think. No matter where you are in the standings, every game is a tough game. You see it across the League. Some of the teams near the bottom of the standings are beating the best teams in the League. That's the beauty of our game. Anyone can win on any given night. We're trying our best." -- Ducks defenseman Michael Del Zotto
"[The Ducks are] young team. They're facing a situation where they're trying to get better all the time. We're going to expect a team that's going to compete." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton
Ducks projected lineup
Sonny Milano -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen -- Adam Henrique -- Kiefer Sherwood
Max Jones -- Andrew Agozzino -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nicolas Deslauriers -- David Backes -- Carter Rowney
Brendan Guhle -- Josh Manson
Jacob Larsson -- Michael Del Zotto
Christian Djoos -- Matt Irwin
John Gibson
Ryan Miller
Scratched: Jani Hakanpaa, Sam Steel, Anthony Stolarz
Injured: Cam Fowler (lower body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Hampus Lindholm (upper body)
Blackhawks projected lineup
Dominik Kubalik -- Jonathan Toews -- Brandon Saad
Alex Nylander -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Kirby Dach -- Drake Caggiula
Matthew Highmore -- David Kampf -- Ryan Carpenter
Duncan Keith -- Adam Boqvist
Olli Maatta -- Slater Koekkoek
Lucas Carlsson -- Connor Murphy
Corey Crawford
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Nick Seeler
Injured: Calvin de Haan (right shoulder), Brent Seabrook (right shoulder/left and right hip), Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol), Zack Smith (back)
Status report
The Ducks did not hold a morning skate.
Stat pack
Rakell has scored 13 goals but is without one in 14 straight games. … Crawford will make his sixth straight start. He's 3-2-0 with a 2.56 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in his past five.