Blackhawks at Jets preview

BLACKHAWKS (25-21-8) at JETS (28-23-5)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, TVAS, NBCSCH+, NHL.TV

Following a five-game losing streak, the Jets are 3-0-1 in their past four games, including a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck will start for Winnipeg. He is 2-0-1 in his past three starts, allowing two goals in each game.
Corey Crawford will start for the Blackhawks, who are 6-1-2 in their past nine games and 12-5-2 in their past 19.
Chicago begins a five-game road trip that both starts and ends with games against their Central Division rivals in Winnipeg. The Blackhawks are 2-0-1 against the Jets this season.

Players to watch

Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews needs one point to reach 800 in the NHL. Toews has been held pointless in his past four games after recording five points (two goals, three assists) in his previous two.
Jets forward Patrik Laine has eight goals in his past eight games after recording his eighth-career NHL hat trick against the Senators on Saturday.

They said it

"They're going. They're playing well. They've had a really good stretch here and so that's more what we expect them to continue… We expect a test. They're playing well and everyone knows it's going to be a big game, so I'm not sure energy is going to be a big problem for them." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton on playing the Jets
"Any Central Division game is going to be big. We've had some big games lately and this is nothing new. We've got a tough matchup against Chicago and we've got to be ready." -- Jets center Mark Scheifele

Blackhawks projected lineup

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

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Blake Wheeler -- Mason Appleton
Jansen Harkins -- Andrew Copp -- Jack Roslovic
Gabriel Bourque -- Nicholas Shore -- Logan Shaw
Josh Morrissey -- Neal Pionk
Dmitry Kulikov -- Sami Niku
Nathan Beaulieu -- Anthony Bitetto
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Cameron Schilling, Andrei Chibisov
Injured: Bryan Little (head), Tucker Poolman (lower body), Mathieu Perreault (upper body), Adam Lowry (upper body), Carl Dahlstrom (broken hand), Mark Letestu (heart virus), Luca Sbisa (right knee)

Status report

Highmore replaces Nylander at forward. … Boqvist, a defenseman, skated in Winnipeg but will not play after suffering a shoulder injury in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. … Seeler will make his Blackhawks debut.

Stat pack

Connor has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past 2 games. … Kane has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in his past 14 games. … Winnipeg has scored the opening goal in six straight games and is 19-0-0 when leading after two periods this season.