Canadiens at Blackhawks
THE STORY: The Montreal Canadiens' solid road record will be put to the test Wednesday as they visit the NHL-leading Chicago Blackhawks in an Original Six matchup in the Windy City. The Canadiens actually have a better record away from Montreal (8-7-1) than they do at the Bell Centre (5-7-6), but they'll be matched up against a Chicago team with just two regulation losses in 16 home games. The Canadiens come into this one on a three-game losing skid that has dropped them to the bottom of the Northeast Division standings, 12 points behind division-leading Boston. It's the first visit to Chicago for the Habs since Oct. 30, 2009. The Blackhawks are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday that halted a five-game winning streak.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS, TSN, Comcast SportsNet Chicago
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (13-14-7): Only in Montreal can a controversy be created based on which language the head coach can - or can't - speak. With the Quebec government still up in arms over new bench boss Randy Cunneyworth's inability to speak French, former Canadiens player and coach Guy Carbonneau has weighed in. Carbonneau believes Cunneyworth needs to speak French "at least to some extent" in order to appease fans, media and others.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (21-9-4): Chicago nearly rallied to force extra time against the Penguins, but ultimately fell just short. The Blackhawks lost forward Marcus Kruger early in the game after he was hit by Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland. He's expected to be reevaluated Wednesday. His departure came just as the 21-year-old had shown signs of life on the offensive end, with points in three of his previous four games coming into Tuesday.
OVERTIME:
1. Montreal has won six of the last eight meetings between the clubs. The home team has prevailed seven straight times in the head-to-head series.
2. Corey Crawford will start in goal for Chicago after sitting the previous six games in favor of the red-hot Ray Emery.