Tonight the Chicago Blackhawks will face off against a hungry Capitals team, who lost to the Dallas Stars last night 2-1.
The Capitals and Pierre Luc-Dubois couldn't close the gap to force overtime or put the hot Dallas Stars into a losing situation.
To prepare for the game, Anders Sorensen's goal every game is to ice the best lineup, and tonight the Blackhawks will be without Taylor Hall or Craig Smith.
Defenseman Wyatt Kaiser will be a healthy scratch tonight too.
The Hawks are 10-19-2 and 8th in the Central, hoping a win tonight can help them get rid of the bottom-dwelling tag.
Nick Foligno returns to the 1st line tonight, while Kurashev is flanking Frank Nazar on the right side. Teuvo Teravainen will take a spot tonight on LW3, beside Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev.
The defensive pairs haven't changed from the 15th, while Arvid Soderblom guards the crease.
There's been speculation with Taylor Hall's resurgence this season that he'll be on the trade block. The Blackhawks could move multiple veterans for assets to keep the prospect pipeline flush and the treasure trove of draft picks full.
While this is purely speculation, moving Hall to a contender would be a huge payoff for GM Kyle Davidson, as he could retain a percentage of hi salary and receive a better draft pick in return.
Hall has played 30 games this season for the Blackhawks and scored 14 points( 7 G, 7 A) with a -10.
Hall was acquired by the Blackhawks in a trade that sent him
POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 17 | 179 ANSWERS Chicago Blackhawks Remove Top-line Forward, Announces Changes Ahead of Game vs Capitals Tuesday Do you think Head Coach Anders Sorensen can turn the Chicago Blackhawks into a winning team? | ||
Yes | 104 | 58.1 % |
No | 75 | 41.9 % |
List of polls |