Chicago Blackhawks (32-18-2) At St. Louis Blues (34-14-4) 11:30AM Central NBC
THE BUZZ
The Blackhawks desperately need a win, a road point or just to play very well. There is no question that the slump they've been in now for well over a month is less a bump in the road than it is a failure to adjust to how other teams are playing them.
Unfortunately, there is growing evidence this is at least partially a result of the number of young players being forced into the lineup due to the team's salary structure. At the same time, I am hearing from multiple sources that there is unrest within the team's management: certain parties feel the roster is way to undersized, others feel Joel Quenneville continues to mishandle younger players.
The Blues meanwhile are 8-1-1 in their last ten.
THE NUMBERS
Power Play Chicago, 14th, 18.1% St. Louis, 2nd, 24.3%
Penalty Kill Chicago, 1st, 87.9% St. Louis, 19th, 80.8%
5-on-5 GF/GA Differential Chicago, 4th, 1.23 St. Louis, 2nd, 1.28
THE LINEUPS (PROJECTED)
Chicago
Saad Toews Hossa Sharp Richards Kane Bickell Shaw Teravainen Carcillo Kruger Smith
Keith Rundblad Hjalmarsson Seabrook Rozsival Oduya
Crawford
St. Louis
Steen Backes Tarasenko Schwartz Stastny Oshie Jaskin Berglund Lindstrom Ott Goc Reaves
Bouwmeester Pietrangelo Gunnarsonn Butler Jackman Cole
Elliott
All for now, recap tomorrow
JJ