Maple Leafs at Blackhawks
THE STORY: The Toronto Maple Leafs have fallen out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to their recent struggles. The Chicago Blackhawks are in danger of doing the same in the West. Chicago, which hosts Toronto on Wednesday, has lost 12 of its last 16 games and has been outscored 10-2 during is current three-game skid. The Blackhawks have played well at home, however, winning seven of their last nine at the United Center. They are seventh in the West, just three points ahead of ninth-place Colorado. Toronto has lost five straight games and nine of 10. The Maple Leafs, who are coming off an 0-3-1 homestand, trail Washington by four points for the eighth and final playoff berth in the East.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN (Chicago)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (29-27-7): Ron Wilson heard the frustration of the crowd at the Air Canada Centre during Tuesday's home loss to Florida as fans chanted "Fire Wilson!" late in the contest. The coach understood the fans' displeasure. "It's frustrating, but understandable," Wilson said. "We didn't do anything at the trade deadline and we came out tentative (on Tuesday), to say the least." Wilson was coaching his 1,400th career game, tying him with Pat Quinn for fourth on the all-time list. All-Star Phil Kessel has registered at least one point in nine of his last 11 contests.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (33-24-7): Captain Jonathan Toews is likely to miss his fifth consecutive game with an apparent concussion. Toews leads Chicago with 29 goals and is second in points with 57. Defenseman Johnny Oduya is expected to make his Blackhawks debut after being acquired from Winnipeg prior to Monday's trade deadline. Oduya recorded two goals and 11 assists in 63 games with the Jets. The addition of Oduya has come at just the right time as fellow blue-liner Niklas Hjalmarsson has missed the last two contests with a suspected concussion.
OVERTIME:
1. Chicago enters Wednesday with a six-game winning streak against Toronto
2. The road team is 15-6-2 in the last 23 meetings between the Original Six teams.