Blackhawks at Rangers preview

BLACKHAWKS (16-23-9) at RANGERS (19-20-7)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, MSG, NBCSCH, NHL.TV

The forward has multiple points in five straight games (13 points; four goals, nine assists); he has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in a six-game point streak for the Blackhawks, who have lost four straight (0-2-2) and are 1-3-3 in their past seven games.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is one win from tying Terry Sawchuk (445) for sixth place on the NHL's all-time list. Sawchuk was 445-336 with 171 ties; Lundqvist is 444-287-90, with 102 extra-time victories (41 in overtime, 61 in shootout).
New York is 2-6-0 in its past eight games and 4-7-2 in its past 13.

Players to watch

Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his past 10 games, with at least one point in nine of them.
Rangers center Mika Zibanejad has six points (two goals, four assists) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"The last game was not good. I think the games before that we were in the game, we easily could have come out with a [win] and the narrative is a little bit different. Overall, we know we're not where we want to be. We've got to play better." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton, referencing an 8-5 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Monday
"We've been more aggressive, more decisive [on the penalty kill]. I think we've done a much better job of denying entry. I think our forecheck has been better. I think we've done a good job at our blue line absorbing the rush yet being aggressive." -- Rangers coach David Quinn on the penalty kill, 14-for-14 in their past three games after going 12-for-19 in the previous four

Blackhawks projected lineup

Brandon Saad -- Jonathan Toews -- Alex DeBrincat
Drake Caggiula -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Brendan Perlini -- Artem Anisimov -- David Kampf
Chris Kunitz -- Marcus Kruger -- Dominik Kahun
Duncan Keith -- Erik Gustafsson
Henri Jokiharju -- Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom -- Connor Murphy
Collin Delia
Cam Ward
Scratched:Slater Koekkoek, John Hayden
Injured:Corey Crawford (concussion), Gustav Forsling (upper torso)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Mats Zuccarello
Filip Chytil -- Ryan Strome -- Jesper Fast
Jimmy Vesey -- Boo Nieves -- Vladislav Namestnikov
Cody McLeod -- Brett Howden -- Pavel Buchnevich
Marc Staal -- Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei -- Adam McQuaid
Ryan Lindgren -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Henrik Lundqvist
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched: Brendan Smith
Injured: Kevin Hayes (upper body), Neal Pionk (lower body), Fredrik Claesson (shoulder)

Status report

Kunitz will play after being scratched against New Jersey. … Koekkoek will sit, meaning Chicago will play six defensemen after playing seven against the Devils. … Hayes will miss his eighth consecutive game and won't play at the Boston Bruins on Saturday either, Quinn said.

Stat pack

Chicago has scored at least one power-play goal in six straight games (7-for-18) and in nine of 10 (12-for-33). … Zuccarello has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past three games.