The Hawks head to Lumbus to take on the Blue Jackets in what is going to be a battle of struggling teams. The Blue Jackets come in as losers of nine in a row, while the Hawks are currently on a four-game skid themselves. If recent trends continue, the Jackets will snap their streak tonight as the last four teams the Hawks have played used their games against them to end losing streaks (Tampa 3 games, Nashville 4 games, Buffalo 3 games). It's going to be interesting to see how the “top guys” from Columbus come out in this one. Patrik Laine was a healthy scratch during their last game, a move he called the most embarrassing moment of his career. The one-time big-time goal scorer has struggled majorly this season, putting up only 2 goals and 1 assist in 9 games. The other disappointment for this team has been their biggest signing in franchise history, Johnny Gaudreau. The winger has only 7 points in 18 games so far this season and is not living up to his $9.8 million cap hit. While he hasn’t been given health bomb status, he has seen his ice time drop. He was benched for most of the 3rd period against the Capitals on the 4th and then was benched for the final minutes in a close game against the Coyotes on the 16th. It's hard to imagine what this team is, as they have the pieces to jump to the next level, but for whatever reason they just can't figure it out. This is one of the games that could be a huge boost of confidence for the Hawks. Hopefully they can put together a good team game, but I am fully prepared for some bad hockey tonight.
Projected lines:
Blackhawks lines in practice today are the same as Sunday:
Things are looking like they will remain the same as last Sunday’s game against the Sabres. I really enjoyed the chemistry that the new look of the Bedard line had. Kurshev continues to impress and is quietly a point-per-game player. Reichel seemed to be a lot more relaxed out there and had a few great looks. This line was able to control the play in the offensive zone and had the Sabres on their heels a bit. I am very excited to see how this line develops over time.
Mrazek is going to get the nod on the net for this one.
Changes to the Powerplay
It is finally happening—the move I have been pitching for here and on my show for the last few weeks—with Kevin Korchinski moving to the first powerplay unit while Seth Jones drops to the second. The team is currently 29th in the league when it comes to the powerplay, and even with changing up the forward group, nothing seemed to change. Seth Jones just wasn’t geling well with Bedard, in my opinion, and at times he almost seemed to look him off and force shots to the net that usually end up being blocked. Now is the time to give the kid a chance to show off what he can do with the top unit. I don’t think it's going to be fixed in just one game, and this is a move that I hope they give enough time to develop because, long-term, it's going to be what's best for this team going forward.
That’s going to be all for me. I just wanted to wish you all a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving for those who are celebrating. I hope you all can enjoy some time with family and friends. I'll be back for Friday's game against the Leafs, and as always, let's go Hawks!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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