Blackhawks at Jets preview
DeBrincat will play 200th NHL game for Chicago; Hellebuyck expected in goal for Winnipeg
by Darrin Bauming / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BLACKHAWKS (13-16-6) at JETS (20-12-2)
8 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSCH, NHL.TV
The Game
Alex DeBrincat will play his 200th game in the NHL when the Chicago Blackhawks complete the second of a back to back against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Thursday.
The Blackhawks are 6-1-0 in the second of back to backs this season. Chicago lost 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche at United Center on Wednesday and is 1-4-1 in its past six games.
The Jets are 8-2-1 in their past 11 games on home ice. Their five-game home winning streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start for the Jets. He made 27 saves in a 3-2 overtime win in Chicago on Oct. 12.
Players to watch
Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past six games.
Jets center Mark Scheifele has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) during a seven-game point streak, the longest by a Winnipeg player this season.
They said it
"We're not happy where we are. You'd be crazy to be satisfied. That's a grind, but the only way we're going to improve is if we stick together … and maybe we can set the table for ourselves going forward." -- Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton
"We want to have a good start, obviously. We want to come out hard and fast, get pucks deep and make them skate a little more than they want to." -- Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers
Blackhawks projected lineup
Dominik Kubalik -- Jonathan Toews -- Brandon Saad
Alex Nylander -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Kirby Dach -- Ryan Carpenter
Zack Smith -- David Kampf -- Matthew Highmore
Duncan Keith -- Connor Murphy
Dennis Gilbert -- Erik Gustafsson
Olli Maatta -- Adam Boqvist
Robin Lehner
Corey Crawford
Scratched: Slater Koekkoek, Dylan Sikura
Injured: Drake Caggiula (concussion protocol), Calvin de Haan (right shoulder), Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol), Brent Seabrook (medical evaluation)
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Blake Wheeler -- Jack Roslovic
Gabriel Bourque -- Adam Lowry -- Mason Appleton
Joona Luoto -- Nicholas Shore -- Logan Shaw
Josh Morrissey -- Tucker Poolman
Luca Sbisa -- Neal Pionk
Anthony Bitetto -- Nathan Beaulieu
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Carl Dahlstrom, Jansen Harkins, Eric Comrie
Injured: Dmitry Kulikov (upper body), Bryan Little (ear), Mathieu Perreault (concussion protocol), Andrew Copp (upper body)
Suspended: Dustin Byfuglien
Status report
Seabrook did not travel to Winnipeg. He's in Chicago getting further medical evaluation. ... The Jets placed Copp and Perreault on injured reserve and recalled Appleton and Harkins from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. Copp will be out at least four weeks… Winnipeg claimed Comrie off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Stat pack
Keith needs one goal for 100 in the NHL. … Laine has four points (three goals, one assist) in a four-game point streak… Connor leads the Jets in scoring against the Western Conference with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 20 games.