Preview: Blue Jackets look to get back on track against Blackhawks

GAME 62: BLACKHAWKS (26-27-8) AT BLUE JACKETS (30-26-5)
Location:Nationwide Arena, 7 P.M., Saturday
TV:Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Go (Jeff Rimer, Jody Shelley); NHLN-US; NBC Sports Chicago,
Radio:97.1 FM & BlueJackets.com (Bob McElligott)
Time keeps running out for the Blue Jackets to catch fire and get an extended winning streak going to finish the season strong.
There are only 21 games left in the regular season for Columbus, which is still in position to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite an extended stretch of sub.500 hockey since the calendar flipped to 2018.
Since defeating the Dallas Stars 2-1 at American Airlines Center on Jan. 2, the Blue Jackets are 7-11-2 in their past 20 games. Only the New York Rangers have won fewer games in that timeframe, but Columbus still has postseason hopes thanks to the Metropolitan Division's struggles among teams ranked fourth through sixth in the standings.
The Blue Jackets need to string some wins together, starting with their next game against the Chicago Blackhawks, who are coming off a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Friday at United Center.
The Blue Jackets called off their scheduled practice Friday, trying to keep guys apart to prevent the spread of an illness that cropped up this week. They held a morning skate instead Saturday, which had full attendance.
Columbus is still trying to get its offense cranked up. Over their past 20 games, the Blue Jackets are ranked first in the NHL in shots per game (36.7) but have scored only 43 goals for an average of 2.15 per game that ranks 31st.
"We're just trying to find solutions right now," defenseman Jack Johnson said. "We're not sitting here being frustrated. We're trying to find solutions. So, I don't think frustrated is the right word for the 20 guys in here. We simply have a problem and we're trying to fix it."

SERIES RECORD
2017-18 Season: (0-1-0). This is the final game of the two-game season series. The Blackhawks won, 5-1, on Oct. 7 in the first game at United Center.
All-time (W-L-T-O): 16-10-3-1 overall; 5-8-1-0 in Philadelphia
WHO'S HOT
Blackhawks: Patrick Kane had four points (two goals, two assists) in three games prior to facing the Sharks on Friday in Chicago.
Blue Jackets: Artemi Panarin, Kane's former linemate with the Blackhawks, has three points in a three-game points streak (two goals, one assist) and has eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past 10 games overall.
EYES ON: THE BLACKHAWKS
EYES ON: THE BLUE JACKETS
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BLACKHAWKS
Forward lines
Brandon Saad - Jonathan Toews - Tommy Wingels
Tomas Jurco - Artem Anisimov - Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat - Nick Schmaltz - Anthony Duclair
Ryan Hartman - David Kampf - Vinnie Hinostroza
Defense pairings
Duncan Keith - Jordan Oesterle
Connor Murphy - Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson - Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Anton Forsberg
Jean-Francois Berube
Others: Patrick Sharp, Lance Bouma, Carl Dahlstrom
Injured reserve:Corey Crawford (upper body), Michal Rozsival (upper body)
LTIR: Marian Hossa (skin condition)
BLUE JACKETS
Forwards
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner - Alex Wennberg - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Lukas Sedlak
Markus Hannikainen - Jussi Jokinen - Josh Anderson
Defensemen
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Jack Johnson - Ryan Murray
Scott Harrington - David Savard
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Others: Markus Nutivaara (upper body), Zac Dalpe
Injured reserve: Nick Foligno (lower body), Dean Kukan (upper body)