Blackhawks at Flyers preview

BLACKHAWKS (7-6-2) at FLYERS (7-6-2)
7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, NBCSP, NBCSCH, NHL.TV

It's the first time this season the Blackhawks have played Toews and Kane together at 5-on-5. Patrick Sharp will play left wing.
Goaltender Brian Elliott will start for the Flyers, who are playing for the first time since a 5-4 shootout loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

Players to watch

Nick Schmaltz, 21, will center a line for the Blackhawks that includes left wing Alex DeBrincat (19) and right wing Ryan Hartman (23). Coach Joel Quenneville said he hopes the youthful energy from that line can provide an offensive spark.
Center Sean Couturier is tied for the Flyers' lead with 18 points (nine goals, nine assists), and is their best defensive center. He'll likely be matched head-to-head with the Toews line and be asked to produce offensively.

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They said it

"In the past we've always gone with the balanced look. Had [Jonathan Toews] on one line, [Patrick Kane] on another line, and there's enough production there. It's tough to check for an opponent. Right now we're not scoring on all the lines. So maybe get one line at least to spark our scoring, that's what we're looking at." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville
"We'll match lines once in a while. No matter who that is you have to be aware. At home it makes it a little easier. Whether they're on the power play or 5-on-5, you have to be aware of those guys." -- Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning, on playing against Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane of Chicago

Blackhawks projected lineup

Patrick Sharp -- Jonathan Toews -- Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad -- Artem Anisimov -- Richard Panik
Alex DeBrincat -- Nick Schmaltz -- Ryan Hartman
Lance Bouma -- Tommy Wingels -- John Hayden
Duncan Keith -- Jan Rutta
Gustav Forsling -- Brent Seabrook
Connor Murphy -- Cody Franson
Corey Crawford
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Tanner Kero, Jordan Oesterle, Michal Kempny
Injured: Michal Rozsival (upper body)

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
Travis Konecny -- Valtteri Filppula -- Wayne Simmonds
Jordan Weal -- Jori Lehtera -- Dale Weise
Taylor Leier -- Scott Laughton -- Michael Raffl
Ivan Provorov -- Robert Hagg
Brandon Manning -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim -- Radko Gudas
Brian Elliott
Michal Neuvirth
Scratched: Matt Read, Mark Alt
Injured: Andrew MacDonald (lower body), Nolan Patrick (upper body)

Status report

Crawford will start for the seventh time in eight games. … Patrick skated on his own Thursday. and will miss his seventh straight game. However, the Flyers hope he will return to practice soon and be able to join them on a two-game road trip that starts at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

Stat pack

Crawford has allowed two goals or fewer in four straight starts. Anisimov has four goals in his past five games. … Couturier has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games.