Preview: Ducks at Blackhawks

[March 09, 2017]  Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks are on quite the run, with the reigning Hart Trophy winner recording his third multi-goal performance in five outings and amassing 14 tallies and 21 points in his last 13 to help the team win all but one of those contests. Fresh off a five-day break, the white-hot Blackhawks vie for their eighth straight victory on Thursday when they host the Anaheim Ducks.

Kane (team-leading 29 goals, 41 assists, 70 points) scored twice in Chicago's 5-3 win over Nashville on Saturday and had a goal and an assist in the Blackhawks' 3-2 win over the Ducks on Nov. 25. Fellow forward Richard Panik was held off the scoresheet in the first encounter with Anaheim, but has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in the past 17 games. While Chicago has been as consistent as they come, the Ducks have alternated wins and losses over the last 12 contests as they navigate the tough waters of the Pacific Division. Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf (team-best 40 assists, 52 points) has kept the team afloat by scoring a goal and setting up two others in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over Nashville, increasing his point total to 13 (four goals, nine assists) in the past 10 games.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, KCOP-13 (Anaheim), CSN-Chicago, NHL.TV

ABOUT THE DUCKS (34-22-10): Skating on Getzlaf's wing, new acquisition Patrick Eaves converted in the bonus format and also had two assists on Tuesday to double his point total (two goals, two assists) in four games since coming over in a trade from Dallas. "Patty works hard," Getzlaf told the Orange County Register. "He's always around the puck all the time and he's around the net. That's one thing that our group was lacking in a way - just that feistiness in front of the net. I thought he's done great with that. Retrieving pucks and being around the net." Rickard Rakell scored on Tuesday for his fifth goal in as many games to increase his career-high total to 27 this season, but he has just one tally in seven encounters with Chicago.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (42-18-5): Two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith is riding a four-game assist streak and defensive partner Brent Seabrook has set up five tallies in his last five contests and notched two assists in the previous meeting with Anaheim. Fellow blue-liner Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper body) was activated from injured reserve on Wednesday, and the addition of the 29-year-old Swede joining former defensive partner Johnny Oduya and fellow veterans Brian Campbell and Michal Rozsival on an already impressive blue line is music to the ears of Kane. "The defense looks pretty deep back there," Kane told the Chicago Sun-Times, while also singling out Trevor van Riemsdyk and Michal Kempny. "... You have eight defensemen that could probably be in a lot of teams' lineups."

OVERTIME

1. Chicago G Corey Crawford improved his career mark to 12-4-2 with a 1.85 goals-against average versus Anaheim after turning aside 34 shots in the previous encounter.

2. Former Hart Trophy winner RW Corey Perry has been held off the scoresheet in seven of his last eight contests for the Ducks.

3. Chicago C Artem Anisimov (22 goals), who scored in the first meeting with Anaheim, has mustered just one shot in his last two games.

PREDICTION: Ducks 3, Blackhawks 2

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