Devils at Blackhawks preview
Kane can extend point, assist streak for Chicago; Schneider starts for New Jersey
by Scott King / NHL.com Correspondent
DEVILS (21-27-8) at BLACKHAWKS (23-25-9)
8:30 p.m. ET; WGN, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV
The Game
Patrick Kane will look to extend his point streak to 16 games when the Chicago Blackhawks host the New Jersey Devils at United Center on Thursday.
Kane has 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) during the 15-game streak and can set a team record with an assist; his 14-game assist streak is tied with Stan Mikita (Nov. 26-Dec. 25, 1967) for longest in Blackhawks history.
Blackhawks forward Chris Kunitz will play his 1,000th NHL game; he did not play in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday when Chicago had its season-high, seven-game winning streak end.
Goalie Cory Schneider will start for New Jersey, which is 1-3-1 in its past five games and 3-7-1 in its past 11. Schneider has lost his past 20 decisions; he hasn't won an NHL regular-season game since Dec. 27, 2017 (0-16-4) and is 0-6-2 in 11 games this season.
Players to watch
Devils center Nico Hischier has four assists in his past two games and eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past seven games.
Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in his NHL-career high nine-game point streak.
They said it
"It's something that's kind of been on the radar, but I knew coming here it wasn't something that I needed to say my career has been complete, that's obviously a really nice thing and the team and organization has found a way to help me get into a game at home. It'll be a really big day for my family." -- Blackhawks forward Chris Kunitz on playing in his 1,000th NHL game
"When Cory (Schneider) is playing his best, he's sound in the net, he's reading plays well, his rebound control is good. The thing we like is when he fights through traffic and makes sure he's in position for catching rebounds, he does a good job." -- Devils coach John Hynes
Devils projected lineup
Marcus Johansson -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Nick Lappin -- Travis Zajac -- Kyle Palmieri
Kenny Agostino -- Pavel Zacha -- Joey Anderson
Brett Seney -- Kevin Rooney -- Drew Stafford
Andy Greene -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Mirco Mueller -- Steven Santini
Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Eric Gryba, Kurtis Gabriel
Injured: Taylor Hall (lower body), Sami Vatanen (concussion), Stefan Noesen (lower body), Miles Wood (upper body), Blake Coleman (upper body)
Blackhawks projected lineup
Drake Caggiula -- Jonathan Toews -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad -- Marcus Kruger -- Dylan Sikura
Chris Kunitz -- Artem Anisimov -- John Hayden
Duncan Keith -- Brent Seabrook
Slater Koekkoek -- Connor Murphy
Carl Dahlstrom -- Erik Gustafsson
Cam Ward
Scratched: Gustav Forsling, Brendan Perlini
Injured: Corey Crawford (concussion), David Kampf (right foot)
Status report
Coleman will miss his second straight game. ... Santini will draw into the lineup for Gryba, and Stafford will enter for Gabriel. ... Crawford participated in his first pre-game morning skate since sustaining a concussion on Dec. 16.
Stat pack
Kane's 14-game assist streak is the longest in the NHL since Adam Oates had a 14-game assist streak with the Boston Bruins from Jan.22-Feb. 20, 1997. … Toews has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past eight games. … Strome has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in a five-game point streak. … Saad needs one point for 300 in NHL. ... The Devils 7-18-3 on the road this season.