Preview: Panthers at Blackhawks

[December 12, 2017]  Corey Crawford’s return to the lineup coincided with the end of a slide, and the Chicago Blackhawks hope to continue moving in a positive direction when they host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Crawford has allowed three goals in two straight victories after missing the previous three contests due to injury as the Blackhawks’ losing streak rose to five games.

“He’s played great for us,” Chicago right wing Patrick Kane told reporters regarding Crawford, who owns a .932 save percentage. “We put ourselves in some tough positions some shifts, and he’s there to bail us out.” The Blackhawks registered a total of 88 shots in their last two games and hope to continue that kind of pressure against Florida, which is without No. 1 goaltender Roberto Luongo and opened its five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime victory at Detroit on Monday. The Panthers have earned at least a point in seven of their last 10 games (5-3-2) and got good news Monday with the quick return of top center Aleksander Barkov. The 22-year-old, who was drafted second overall by Florida in 2013, notched an assist in the win over the Red Wings and logged 23 minutes, 36 seconds of ice time after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Sportnet, FSN Florida, NBCSN Chicago

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (12-14-4): Florida’s top two scorers have been red-hot of late as Jonathan Huberdeau (32 points) has recorded a goal and five assists in his last three games while Vincent Trocheck (31) has registered three tallies and eight points in his last five. Aaron Ekblad saw his three-game goal-scoring streak end Monday despite unleashing four shots and fellow defenseman Mike Matheson scored the game-winner in overtime for his first tally of the campaign. James Reimer is 3-1-2 in his last six decisions after making 34 saves on Monday.
 

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (14-11-5): Kane snapped a four-game point drought with a pair of assists in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Arizona and leads Chicago with 29 points - eight more than the team’s goal-scoring leader Alex DeBrincat (12). Captain Jonathan Toews has notched four points in his last five games while Nick Schmaltz and Artem Anisimov ended four-game goal-scoring droughts on Sunday. Tommy Wingels has scored in two straight games, but Chicago's power play has struggled in its last seven contests (2-for-27).

OVERTIME

1. Barkov’s assist on Monday gave him 28 points on the season and pulled the Finn within one of 200 for his career.

2. Kane moved into fifth place on the team’s all-time scoring list Sunday, notching two points to break a tie with Doug Wilson (779).

3. Chicago LW Patrick Sharp, who has managed one point in his last six contests, is slated to play in his 900th NHL game on Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 4, Panthers 2

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