Senators at Blackhawks preview

SENATORS (21-28-9) at BLACKHAWKS (25-27-8)
8 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, NBCSCH, NHL.TV

The Blackhawks are 13 points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They scored a season-high four power-play goals in an 8-2 win against the Senators on Jan. 9.
The Senators are 6-4-0 in their past 10 games since losing six in a row (0-6-0). They trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by 14 points for second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Senators forward Matt Duchene has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past seven games.
Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past eight games after getting two assists in his previous 10.

They said it

"They've got some high-end players, a lot of guys that know how to win, a lot of experience. The minute you give them a little bit of space they're going to give it to you like they did the last time we played them. ... Hopefully today we play a little tighter." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher
"We expect them to have a much better effort than they had last time we saw them. I don't think teams forget that, when teams get as many goals as we did in their own building, so let's start with a great effort tonight." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews

Senators projected lineup

Mike Hoffman -- Matt Duchene -- Magnus Paajarvi
Zack Smith -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone
Ryan Dzingel -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Marian Gaborik
Max McCormick -- Nicholas Shore -- Tom Pyatt
Johnny Oduya -- Erik Karlsson
Mark Borowiecki -- Cody Ceci
Fredrik Claesson -- Thomas Chabot
Mike Condon
Craig Anderson
Scratched:Ben Harpur
Injured: Bobby Ryan (hand), Chris Wideman (hamstring)
Suspended:Alexandre Burrows

Blackhawks projected lineup

Brandon Saad -- Jonathan Toews -- Tommy Wingels
Tomas Jurco -- Artem Anisimov -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Nick Schmaltz -- Anthony Duclair
Vinnie Hinostroza -- David Kampf -- Ryan Hartman
Duncan Keith -- Jordan Oesterle
Erik Gustafsson -- Brent Seabrook
Connor Murphy -- Carl Dahlstrom
Anton Forsberg
J.F. Berube
Scratched:Lance Bouma, Patrick Sharp
Injured:Corey Crawford (upper body), Michal Rozsival (upper body), Jan Rutta (undisclosed)

Status report

The Senators held an optional morning skate. ... Boucher said Ryan could play against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. ... Rutta skated again but won't play. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is expecting to get him back against the San Jose Sharks on Friday. ... Quenneville didn't sound optimistic about whether Crawford would return this season. "We'll see," he said. … Dzingel will play after missing two games because of personal reasons.

Stat pack

Karlsson has five assists in a four-game point streak. ... Kane has scored two goals in his past 14 games. He had an NHL career-high five points (goal, four assists) against Ottawa on Jan. 9.