Blackhawks at Red Wings
The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings are each anchored at the bottom of their respective divisions, but the prospects for the Original Six rivals could not be more disparate. While the woeful Red Wings are looking up at the rest of the NHL, the resurgent Blackhawks vie for a season high-tying fifth consecutive victory on Friday night in Detroit.
Seemingly left for dead in the postseason chase after dropping nine of 11 (2-7-2) last month, Chicago has roared back with a vengeance and piled up 18 goals during its four-game winning streak. The Blackhawks, who also have won four straight and seven of nine against the Red Wings, have crept within four points of the second wild card in the clustered Western Conference following Thursday's 4-3 victory over Edmonton. Detroit, which was the first team to be officially eliminated from postseason contention this season, is in the midst of its fifth losing streak of at least six games. The Red Wings have dropped 10 of their last 11 games (1-9-1) and have been limited to two goals or fewer nine times in that span.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: NHL Network, NBCS Chicago, FS Detroit
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (15-48-5): Anthony Mantha is rediscovering his scoring touch following a lengthy injury absence, scoring in Monday's 2-1 loss to Colorado to give him three goals in six games and 15 on the season. Mantha, who missed nearly two months due to broken ribs and a punctured lung, has nine points in 11 games since rejoining the lineup. "Hopefully I can produce even more in the last 14 games," Mantha said. We're not gonna hide it that this year's been really hard for our team but we need to show some character these last 14 games."
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (31-28-8): Alex DeBrincat, a 41-goal scorer in 2018-19, has slumped badly this season but ended a five-game drought with a pair of goals Thursday and also has torched the Red Wings with four tallies and nine points in five career meetings. Patrick Kane, who reached 30 goals for the fifth time in his career and fourth in the past five seasons, also has a healthy track record with 43 points in 48 games versus Detroit. Defenseman Adam Boqvist has five assists in his last three games after not collecting one in his previous 18.
OVERTIME
1. Blackhawks F Dylan Strome has six points in five games after notching only one assist in his previous 11.
2. Red Wings C Dylan Larkin has nine of his team-high 49 points over the past seven games.
3. Blackhawks D Lucas Carlsson exited Thursday's game after taking a puck to the side of the head and did not return.