The Blackhawks look to take the 3-game series at 2-0-1 by besting the Lightning in this afternoon's rubber match. Can the Hawks play a solid 60 in all zones so the outcome reflects the productivity?
Compared to the season-opening series when the Hawks were dominated losing by at least 3 goals in both games, this series has been a 180 with a greater compete level and games determined by a single goal.
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Game Day
Game 26, March 7:
Blackhawks vs Lightning
1:30pm CST
Records:
Blackhawks, 13-7-5, 31 Pts (4th)
Lightning, 16-4-2, 34 Pts (1st)
Season Series:
1-2-1
Goals For/Game:
Blackhawks, 3.08 (14th)
Lightning, 3.50 (1st)
Goals Against/Game:
Blackhawks, 2.88 (15th)
Lightning, 2.00 (1st)
Power Play:
Blackhawks, 23-73, 31.5% (1st)
Lightning, 19-75, 25.3% (8th)
Penalty Kill:
Blackhawks, 57-75, 76.0% (22nd)
Lightning, 68-77, 88.3% (2nd)
Even though Malcolm Subban turned in a bounce-back effort that had a thrilling ending on Friday, look for Kevin Lankinen to get back the net and likely the next few starts as the Hawks head back on the road.
The Chicago starting forwards should remain the same but the D pairs will be mixed up assuming Calvin de Haan is unavailable in order to nurse the injury he sustained blocking a shot in the last game:
DeBrincat - Suter - Kane
Kubalik - Kampf - Hagel
Janmark - Soderberg - Kurashev
Highmore - Wallmark - Carpenter
Keith - Mitchell
Zadorov - Boqvist
Bowey/Carlsson/Kalynuk - Murphy
Lankinen
Subban
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Subban vs Lehner
A comparison between Subban and Robin Lehner who were traded for each other a year ago: Lehner is 9-24 in the shootout with 50 goals allowed on 102 shots (albeit he's played in five times as many games).
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Roster Updates
Although there is debate on whether Nicolas Beaudin should have gotten the recall over Lucas Carlsson or Wyatt Kalynuk, honestly, Carlsson and Kalynuk simply played stronger in Rockford than Beaudin has.
So if the recall is based on merit, Carlsson and Kalynuk are justified while Beaudin continues to work on areas of improvement in the AHL. One of those areas is executing defensively while under pressure.
With de Haan temporarily on the shelf, there are a few options for rolling out the D pairs. One option is playing one of the rookies Carlsson or Kalynuk:
Keith - Mitchell
Zadorov - Boqvist
Carlsson/Kalynuk - Murphy
Or perhaps the coaches go with Madison Bowey instead:
Keith - Mitchell
Zadorov - Boqvist
Bowey - Murphy
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Rockford Updates
The IceHogs earned their second win of the season after a solid performance by Collin Delia who made 37 saves while looking more composed in net and tracking pucks much better than his prior outings.
Starting Lineup
Game Recap
1st Goal: Dumont (0-1)
The Wild passed the puck deceptively right to left behind the net to fake out Delia as Gabriel Dumont received the pass in the slot. Isaak Phillips got caught puck watching instead of covering Dumont.
2nd Goal: Franson (1-1)
Andrei Altybarmakian moved the puck low to high along the end boards and up the left side to Nicolas Beaudin who fed it to Cody Franson at the right point. Franson fired a slapper into the back of the twine.
3rd Goal: Chalupa (2-1)
Franson began the breakout from behind Delia and made a stretch pass to Beaudin in the neutral zone who then found Matej Chalupa streaking down the left lane. Chalupa sent a rocket home from the left circle.
4th Goal: Franson (3-1) PP
Beaudin and Brandon Pirri rotated the puck amongst themselves on the right side before dishing to Franson whose floating wrister had eyes and snuck through Wild goalie Hunter Jones' five hole.
5th Goal: McLeod (3-2)
Dmitry Osipov and Michael Krutil couldn't contain Cody McLeod in the slot who stuffed a loose puck after Delia made an initial save from Josh Atkinson's point shot.
Player Notes
Delia's strong game was punctuated at the end when he made a fantastic save with 3 minutes left in the 3rd to preserve the 3-2 lead and his first win of 2021 for either the Hawks or Hogs.
Beaudin collected 3 assists and now has 6 of them in 3 games so far since being sent down to Rockford. Most notable about last night's contest was his sleek puck movement and much improved defense.
Chalupa had his best game as a Hog on Saturday. He had several prime scoring chances in addition to his goal. Leveraging his size, he was heavy on the forecheck and industrious on the cycle.
This game also had a lot of nastiness. Altybarmakian and Evan Barratt were little balls of hate agitating and playing to the whistle. Also, neither backed down when the Wild double and tripled them.
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See you on the boards!
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