Blues at Blackhawks
Two Central Division rivals streaking in opposite directions collide Sunday as the Chicago Blackhawks continue their four-game homestand with a matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Chicago has won three in a row, including a 6-3 triumph over Arizona on Thursday to begin the stretch at United Center, and trails division-leading Minnesota by three points.
Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks, who have won eight of nine overall, with 23 goals after recording his third career hat trick versus the Coyotes and has collected 16 points over his last 13 contests. St. Louis looks to avoid a third consecutive defeat as it returns to action following its bye week. The Blues, who are battling Nashville for third place in the Central, are 2-1-1 against Chicago this season after recording a 4-1 victory on Jan. 2 in the 2017 Winter Classic and have won four of their last five visits to the Windy City. Vladimir Tarasenko entered Saturday tied for fourth in the league with 28 goals and has tallied five times over his last seven games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE BLUES (31-24-5): Patrik Berglund will celebrate his recent contract extension by appearing in his 616th game Sunday, which will move him past Bob Plager for seventh place on the franchise list. The 28-year-old Swede, who is mired in a four-game point drought after registering a hat trick against Montreal on Feb. 11, signed his new five-year, $19.25 million deal on Friday. "I love the city and have made a lot of good friends here," Berglund told the team's website. "For me, it was for sure that I wanted to stay. ... This is where I want to be, and this is where I want to win the (Stanley) Cup."
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (38-18-5): Captain Jonathan Toews, who scored three goals during a five-point performance against Minnesota on Tuesday, and Kane are the first Chicago teammates to record hat tricks in consecutive games since Alexei Zhamnov and Eric Daze accomplished the feat respectively on April 11 and 13, 1997. Defenseman Duncan Keith, who has eclipsed the 40-point mark for the fourth consecutive season and eighth time in nine campaigns, is one away from 500 in the NHL. Tomas Jurco, who failed to record a point in 16 games with Detroit this season and has registered 15 goals and 24 assists in 159 NHL contests, could make his debut for Chicago against St. Louis after being acquired for a 2017 third-round draft pick on Friday.
OVERTIME
1. The Blues have allowed a total of 17 goals in winning eight of their last 11 road games.
2. Chicago could be without D Niklas Hjalmarsson, who left Thursday's game in the first period with an upper-body injury.
3. St. Louis C Jori Lehtera is three points shy of 100 for his career.