Coyotes at Blackhawks preview

COYOTES (1-4-0) at BLACKHAWKS (3-0-2)
8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-A, NHL.TV

The two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie sustained a concussion last season and hasn't played since Dec. 23, when he left after allowing four goals on seven shots in a 4-1 loss at the New Jersey Devils.
The Blackhawks are off to their best start since beginning 6-0-0 in 2012-13. They are the first NHL team to begin a season by playing five straight overtime games.
The Coyotes will try to end a two-game losing streak (0-2-0). They've been outscored 11-3 in five games, and their one victory came in a shootout against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 10.

Players to watch

Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta (1-3-0, 2.21 goals-against average) will be playing against Crawford, his teammate in Chicago from 2013-15, for the first time.
Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a five-game point streak. He is three goals shy of 300 in his NHL career.

They said it

"I haven't had the chance to play against him yet, so it's been a long time waiting. But obviously when you hear he's trying to make the comeback in this game, I was obviously a little bit anxious that he would do it. Then you start hearing that he's starting, so super happy for him. It's a long time being out from action." -- Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta on playing against Crawford
"It's exciting. I'm sure he's looking forward to it and we're all excited about it as well. It'll be a fun situation for the guys, seeing him back in the net as well. So we're looking for everyone to be excited about tonight's game." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on Crawford's return

Coyotes projected lineup:

Richard Panik -- Derek Stepan -- Clayton Keller
Brendan Perlini -- Dylan Strome -- Christian Fischer
Michael Grabner -- Brad Richardson -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Lawson Crouse -- Nick Cousins -- Josh Archibald
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Jason Demers
Alex Goligoski -- Niklas Hjalmarsson
Kevin Connauton -- Jordan Oesterle
Antti Raanta
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched:Mario Kempe, Ilya Lyubushkin
Injured:Alex Galchenyuk (lower body), Jakob Chychrun (knee), Christian Dvorak (lower body)

Blackhawks projected lineup:

Alex DeBrincat -- Jonathan Toews -- Dominik Kahun
Alexandre Fortin -- Nick Schmaltz -- Patrick Kane
Chris Kunitz -- Artem Anisimov -- John Hayden
Brandon Saad -- Marcus Kruger -- David Kampf
Duncan Keith -- Henri Jokiharju
Erik Gustafsson -- Brent Seabrook
Brandon Manning -- Jan Rutta
Corey Crawford
Cam Ward
Scratched:Andreas Martinsen, Brandon Davidson
Injured:Connor Murphy (back), Gustav Forsling (wrist)

Status report

Hjalmarsson, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks, will play at United Center for the first time since being traded to the Coyotes on June 23, 2017. … Chicago activated Crawford from injured reserve after the morning skate and sent forward Luke Johnson to Rockford of the American Hockey League.

Stat pack

No Arizona player has more than one point. … DeBrincat (six goals, three assists) and Kane (five goals, three assists) are on five-game point streaks. Toews and Kane have simultaneous five-game point streaks for the fourth time in the NHL.