Vancouver Canucks (29-20-3) at Chicago Blackhawks (33-18-3) 7PM Central/5PM Pacific CSNC/RSN
THE BUZZ
The Blackhawks have five points in their last three games, and despite losing in the gimmick known as the shootout to Arizona Monday night, they’ve played much better in that span than they had for perhaps the previous several weeks.
Another positive for Chicago—they get Kris Versteeg back tonight, whose hand injury on January 1 pretty much coincided with their recent swoon.
Coincidence? Maybe. But Versteeg was having a really nice bounceback season and he gives Joel Quenneville another fast, skilled and experienced forward who, though small, is not afraid to mix it up and go to the tough areas.
The question this morning, at this writing, is who gets sent down to make room for Versteeg, most likely either Joakim Nordstrom or Teuvo Teravainen.
The truth is, neither Nordstrom nor Teravainen is critical to the Hawks’ success right now. For all the hoopla, and his obvious skill and hockey sense, Teravainen has 4 points in 15 games and is -1. He still has a ways to go at the NHL level.
The argument no doubt can be, and has been, made that point total is better than Nordstrom’s. But Nordstrom is a fourth line player, his job is to check and defend. Teravainen is really a top 9 or even top 6 player—in terms of his style of play. When you insert Versteeg back in, that means someone either goes to the press box or down to the fourth line—and that could/should very likely be Teravainen. So why not let him take what he’s learned and put it to use on the top lines in Rockford?
But the Hawks will decide this and I also wouldn’t rule out a trade of some kind going down in the next 48 hours either.
THE NUMBERS
Power Play Vancouver, 16th, 18.2% Chicago, 15th, 18.3%
Penalty Kill Vancouver, 4th, 85.6% Chicago, 1st, 87.5%
5-on-5 GF/GA Vancouver, 23rd, 0.95 Chicago, 4th, 1.24
THE LINEUPS (PROJECTED)
Vancouver
Sedin Sedin Burrows Higgins Vey Vrbata Dorsett Matthias Kassian Kenins Horvat Hansen
Edler Tanev Sbisa Hamhuis Stanton Weber
Lack
Chicago
Saad Toews Hossa Sharp Kane Richards Bickell Shaw Versteeg Carcillo Kruger Smith
Keith Rundblad Hjalmarsson Seabrook Rozsival Oduya
Crawford
I’ll recap tomorrow.
JJ
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