Blackhawks at Blues preview

BLACKHAWKS (27-27-8) at BLUES (36-17-10)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV

The Blues, who lead the Colorado Avalanche by three points for first in the Central Division, have won four in a row after a five-game winless streak (0-3-2) and outscored their opponents 13-2.
Goalie Jordan Binnington, who will start for St. Louis, has allowed one goal on 54 shots in his past three starts. He has a 0.33 goals-against average, .984 save percentage and two shutouts in that span.
The Blackhawks, who are 3-7-2 their past 12 games after winning five straight, are eight points behind the Arizona Coyotes and Calgary Flames for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Chicago will be playing its first game without goalie Robin Lehner and defenseman Erik Gustafsson, each traded on Monday before the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline. Lehner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and Gustafsson was traded to the Calgary Flames.

Players to watch

Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has eight points (two goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak; he has 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 64 games against the Blues.
Blues defenseman Colton Parayko has five points (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak.

They said it

"As far as where we go from here, I don't really know how to comment on that. But I think losing [Lehner], losing [Gustafsson], I think those two guys have meant a lot to this team in the short time they've been here." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews
"I think we're confident. I think we know when we play our best hockey, we're as good as anyone in this League. It's nice to see the confidence in [general manager Doug Armstrong] that we can do it, and we believe we can too, so it's a good thing." -- Blues center Ryan O'Reilly on the Blues not making any trades Monday

Blackhawks projected lineup

Dominik Kubalik -- Jonathan Toews -- Drake Caggiula
Brandon Saad -- Ryan Carpenter -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Kirby Dach -- Dylan Strome
Matthew Highmore -- David Kampf -- Alex Nylander
Duncan Keith -- Slater Koekkoek
Nick Seeler -- Connor Murphy
Olli Maatta -- Adam Boqvist
Corey Crawford
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Lucas Carlsson
Injured: Calvin de Haan (shoulder), Brent Seabrook (shoulder/hips), Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol), Zack Smith (back)

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Brayden Schenn
Zach Sanford -- Robert Thomas -- David Perron
Alexander Steen -- Tyler Bozak -- Jordan Kyrou
Ivan Barbashev -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Sammy Blais
Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Marco Scandella -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Justin Faulk
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched: Robert Bortuzzo, Jacob de la Rose, Mackenzie MacEachern, Troy Brouwer
Injured: Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Jay Bouwmeester (cardiac episode)

Status report

Subban, acquired in the Lehner trade, arrived Tuesday morning and was on the ice for the morning skate. ... Bozak returns after missing two games with a lower-body injury. MacEachern, a forward, will be scratched with Bozak returning. … Brouwer, a forward, was recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

Stat pack

Keith has four assists in a three-game point streak. ... Kubalik has six points (four goals, two assists) his past five games. ... Sanford has no points the past five games after scoring five goals the previous two.