Coyotes at Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks have yet to lose in regulation but that's not the streak they want to stop when they host the struggling Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. Chicago set an NHL record in Saturday's 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues, becoming the first team in league history to open the season with five consecutive overtime games.
"I don't know. I think we just love playing 3-on-3 or something," Blackhawks forward Nick Schmaltz said. "But five in a row is crazy to start a year." Chicago has been a sieve on defense but could see the return of No. 1 goaltender Corey Crawford, who has been sidelined for nearly 10 months. The punchless Coyotes arrive in the Windy City with the league's most feeble offense, scoring a mere three goals and getting shut out three times in five games. Arizona, which has dropped its last four in Chicago, snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series with a 6-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Feb. 12.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, NBCS Chicago
ABOUT THE COYOTES (1-4-0): Arizona opened its four-game road trip with a 2-1 loss at Minnesota, managing just a power-play goal from Brendan Perlini, but it remains in search of its first even-strength tally. The Coyotes are not lacking for scoring opportunities -- they had 32 shots against the Wild and have recorded at least 30 shots in each of the first five games. "I thought we had our chances," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said after the latest loss. "When you don't score, everything is magnified. That's the problem."
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (3-0-2): Chicago has already allowed 21 goals in its five games and could use Crawford, a two-time Stanley Cup winner who has not played since Dec. 23 due to concussion issues. Crawford has been practicing since the end of September and "looks good," coach Joel Quenneville said. "Practices have been great," Crawford said. "I've been getting the timing a little bit more, getting up to speed and reading shots and all of that. We're still going to wait until tomorrow morning (to decide), but right now I'm feeling good."
OVERTIME
1. Blackhawks F Alex DeBrincat scored twice against St. Louis to give him a team-leading six goals.
2. The Coyotes rank fifth in the league, killing off 11 of 12 penalties.
3. Chicago has been awful on special teams, converting 2 of 11 on the power play and thwarting 11 of 17 penalties.