Dallas Stars (29-33-10) at Chicago Blackhawks (47-20-6) 7:30PM Central CSN/Fox Sports + (Dallas)
GOALIES: Kari Lehtonen/Dallas Corey Crawford/Chicago
NOTES: Here's another game like the last versus Vancouver: a team the Hawks should beat, but can't take for granted, especially as they try to optimize their overall game and their place in the standings leading up to the playoffs.
Minnesota (6 points back of Chicago) hosts Philadelphia tonight.
Don't look now but in terms of overall shots per game (for and against) the Hawks are slowly trending toward positive territory, presently at 30.6 for/31.1 against. Sort of a meaningless stat taken out of context, except the trend reflects the team's overall improvement.
The Stars push the pace and will pressure the Hawks in their end and in transition. But they have defensive zone vulnerabilities to say the least. The key for the Hawks, as always with Dallas, is patience and looking for opportunities.
I will recap tomorrow.
JJ