Preview: Stars at Blackhawks

[March 22, 2016]  The Chicago Blackhawks are having trouble shifting into another gear as the regular season reaches the home stretch. With five losses in their last six games (1-3-2), the Blackhawks look to get back on track and cut into their deficit behind the first-place Dallas Stars on Tuesday when the Central Division rivals meet at the United Center.

"We want to get as high (in the standings) as we can," Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith told reporters. "At the same time, we're not looking farther than our next game on Tuesday. It's been tough to play against Dallas. We haven't had much success. We need to have a good effort." The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy recipient is correct as the Stars have won three of the four meetings this season, with Patrick Eaves collecting three goals and an assist versus the Blackhawks. Eaves also tallied in Saturday's 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders as Dallas improved to 5-1-2 in its last eight to open a two-point lead over St. Louis and a four-point edge over Chicago.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN Chicago, NHL.TV

ABOUT THE STARS (43-21-9): Kari Lehtonen turned aside all 27 shots he faced on Saturday to improve to 5-1-1 in his last seven outings. While the 32-year-old Finn (21-9-2, 2.85 goals-against average) will receive his team's fourth consecutive start on Tuesday, coach Lindy Ruff stopped short of naming Lehtonen the club's No. 1 goaltender over Antti Niemi (22-12-7, 2.76 GAA). "I'm not establishing anybody as No. 1," Ruff told reporters on Monday. "But I like the way (Lehtonen's) playing, and the reason he has been playing is because his game has been better than Antti's."

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (42-24-7): Backup Scott Darling is in line to make his fourth straight start as Chicago attempts to weather the storm without Corey Crawford, who has been sidelined for the last week with an upper-body injury. "Obviously I wish it were different circumstances. We don’t want Corey to be hurt; we miss him for sure,” Darling told CSN Chicago on Sunday after making 32 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to Minnesota. The 27-year-old Darling has posted a 1-1-1 mark in Crawford's absence and has stopped 24 of 25 shots combined in a pair of relief appearances versus Dallas.

OVERTIME

1. Chicago is mired in an 0-for-17 stretch on the power play in the last five contests while Dallas has thwarted all but one of its last 19 short-handed situations in the last eight.

2. Stars D Jordie Benn is expected to return from an eight-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

3. The Blackhawks are 0-7-2 in their last nine games versus Western Conference teams currently holding a playoff spot.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 4, Stars 3

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