Blackhawks at Hurricanes
The Chicago Blackhawks hope to end their baffling offensive woes while taking on some old friends when they visit the rejuvenated Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The Blackhawks, who scored 15 goals in their first two games of the season, managed a total of one in losing their last two and have tallied only 12 times over the last seven contests while falling back to .500 (7-7-2).
“I guess we all just have to have a little faith, we have to stick with it,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews told reporters after a 3-1 loss at Philadelphia on Thursday. “Once we see a few go in, then everyone is going to feed off that confidence and feed off that energy those goals give us.” The Blackhawks are expected to face their former backup Scott Darling while ex-teammates Marcus Kruger, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Teuvo Teravainen, Joakim Nordstrom and Klas Dahlbeck all are on Carolina's roster. Jordan Staal scored twice as the Hurricanes rallied to post a 3-1 victory over Columbus on Friday - their second straight triumph after losing four in a row. “We played with speed (Friday),” Staal told reporters. “Our execution has been slowly improving, and it’s a continuing process we have to do day in and day out if we want to win games.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (7-7-2): Coach Joel Quenneville started the last game with Toews centering Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp on the top line, but Brandon Saad replaced Sharp after a slow start and finished with a season-high eight shots. Saad has not scored a goal in 10 games while Kane, who leads the team with 14 points, was kept off the scoresheet the last two contests and Ryan Hartman (10 points) has been blanked in four straight. One of the problems on offense is the power play as Chicago is just 3-for-36 with the man advantage in its last nine contests.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (6-5-3): Darling, who went 18-5-5 with Chicago last season before being traded to Carolina, has given up one goal each in his last two starts and is 2-0-2 in his past four outings. Justin Williams notched an assist on Friday for his seventh point in six games and team-leading 12th overall while Jeff Skinner (team-best seven goals) has been kept off the scoresheet in four straight. Brett Pesce returned to the lineup after missing three games with a concussion, logging 23 minutes, 3 seconds of ice time, and fellow defenseman Noah Hanifin posted an assist for the third consecutive contest.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina RW Sebastian Aho recorded his eighth assist of the season Friday but is looking for his first goal after scoring 24 in 2016-17.
2. Chicago G Corey Crawford has allowed eight goals over his last six games, posting a .951 save percentage in that span.
3. The Hurricanes have won three of the last four meetings but lost the most recent matchup 2-1 on Jan. 6.