Avalanche at Blackhawks preview

AVALANCHE (21-9-3) at BLACKHAWKS (13-15-6)
8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVAS

The defenseman had missed the past nine games because of a groin injury. He has six points (one goal, five assists) in 25 games this season for Chicago, which ended a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) with a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. He needs one goal for 100 in his career.
The Avalanche are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games, outscoring opponents 38-22 in that stretch.
Pavel Francouz, who is 4-0-1 with a .944 save percentage and 1.90 goals-against average in his past five games, starts for the Avalanche.

Players to watch

Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon has seven points (two goals, five assists) during his five-game point streak. He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in two games against Chicago this season.
Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"He's elevated his game and [he's been] more consistent over the last couple of years, so he's getting himself into the scoring areas more. He's really well aware of his surroundings and when he has open men he can use and when his shot is his best opportunity. I think you're going to see his numbers continue to go up." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar on Nathan MacKinnon
"I feel good energy-wise, I feel strong, ready to do whatever the team needs me to do." -- Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith on his return

Avalanche projected lineup

Andre Burakovsky -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Joonas Donskoi
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nazem Kadri -- Mikko Rantanen
Valeri Nichushkin -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Matt Calvert
Matt Nieto -- Tyson Jost -- J.T. Compher
Nikita Zadorov -- Samuel Girard
Ryan Graves -- Ian Cole
Anton Lindholm -- Mark Barberio
Pavel Francouz
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:Vladislav Kamenev, Calle Rosen
Injured:Erik Johnson (lower body), Cale Makar (upper body), Colin Wilson (lower body)

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
Corey Crawford
Robin Lehner
Scratched:Slater Koekkoek, Brent Seabrook, Dylan Sikura
Injured:Drake Caggiula (concussion protocol), Calvin de Haan (right shoulder), Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol)

Status report

Smith will play for Chicago despite missing the morning skate Wednesday with flu-like symptoms. … Keith will go in for Seabrook, who will be a healthy scratch for the third time this season. … Lindholm will go in for Rosen. … Johnson could return for the Avalanche lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes at home on Thursday, Bednar said.

Stat pack

Colorado is 3-0-2 in its past five games in Chicago. … Rantanen has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past three games against the Blackhawks. … Kane has four goals in his past two games, including a hat trick.