The Hawks are back at it tonight, fresh off their 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. That win snapped an eight-game losing streak and also moved the Hawks to the 30th spot in the standings. While the win hurts the bigger picture in terms of draft lottery position, I have to say if we are going to be winning games, it's nice to at least be playing spoiler for teams still fighting to make the playoffs. Mrazek once again played a very solid game in net and was finally able to get his name in the win column. That was only his 9th win on the season and his first win since February 25th against the San Jose Sharks. Since returning to the lineup this past Saturday, Toews has looked pretty good. He is averaging 14 minutes of ice time in the first two games back and has recorded an assist in each game.
The Canadian swing continues tonight with a stop in Vancouver to take on the Canucks. These two teams met just last week, which saw Vancouver come away with a 4-2 victory, but since then they have been eliminated from playoff contention, so tonight is going to be a battle of pride. While there isn’t much to watch out for in terms of team play, there are a few things to keep an eye on for individual players. Tyler Johnson remains just two points away from career point 400 and will take another shot at reaching the milestone tonight. Andreas Athanasiou comes into this one on an absolute heater. He has tied a career high with a three-game goal streak and has scored four goals in that span. Athanasiou is another one of those players who seems to really be able to show more of what he can do now that the trade deadline has passed. He has 11 points (4-7) in the 16 games since the deadline, which ties him for the team lead in that span. It will be interesting to see how he finishes up these last five games.
Up Next Vancouver Canucks 34-36-7
Players to Watch Elias Pettersson 37 goals 60 assists 97 points JT Miller 29 goals 47 assists 76 points Quinn Hughes 7 goals 66 assists 73 points
Projected Starter Thatcher Demko 11-14-4 3.37 GAA .894 SV%
Frozen Four The NCAA semi-finals are about to get started here in about an hour or so, and the first game will see Hawks prospect Drew Commesso take on the University of Minnesota. After the conclusion of that game, Frank Nazar and the University of Michigan take on Quinnipiac University. Both games will be on ESPN2 and will be fun to watch.
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