Preview: Avalanche at Blackhawks

[January 06, 2015]  The Colorado Avalanche need look no further than the Chicago Blackhawks to serve as a reminder of how much things have changed for them since last season. The Avalanche dominated the Blackhawks in 2013-14, winning four of five meetings en route to a first-place finish in the Central Division. It has been a different story this season for Colorado, which is buried in the division basement entering Tuesday's night's matchup in Chicago.

The Blackhawks are tied with Nashville for first in the Central and will go for their third straight victory over the Avalanche this season, winning both games in Colorado by a combined 8-4 margin. Chicago rebounded from a last-second loss at Washington in the Winter Classic by rallying from four one-goal deficits before prevailing in overtime to snap Dallas' four-game winning streak. The Blackhawks have won six of nine (6-2-1), scoring at least four goals in five of the victories.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), CSN Chicago

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (15-16-8): Rookie Borna Rendulic, who became the first Crotian-born player in league history to score a goal in his fourth game on New Year's Eve, was elevated to the No. 2 line along with Matt Duchene and captain Gabriel Landeskog in Sunday's 4-3 loss to Columbus. Although the 22-year-old Rendulic was held off the scoresheet, he had three hits, blocked a shot and showed enough for coach Patrick Roy to keep him with the same unit Tuesday. "I was very happy with Rendulic," Roy said. "I liked his speed and size."

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (26-11-2): Corey Crawford started all 14 games in November before going on the shelf for three weeks due to injury and has yet to recapture his previous form. Crawford has permitted 11 goals in his last three starts and 18 with a save percentage of .891 in six appearances since he was hurt. “I don’t think he’s played as well as he was going into the injury,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I think he’s trying to get back to that consistent play. That’s a work in progress, and that’s a pretty fair assessment.”

OVERTIME

1. Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane has two goals and four assists in the two wins over Colorado this season.

2. Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov, set to make his fifth straight start, is 7-3-0 with a 2.20 goals-against average versus Chicago.

3. Chicago has allowed the opening goal in each of the past five games.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 3, Avalanche 2

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