PREGAME: Blackhawks vs Golden Knights
The Chicago Blackhawks look to finish off their West Coast trip by meeting the Vegas Golden Knights at the T-Mobile Arena for some afternoon hockey. The Hawks are coming off of a 4-3 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings and the Golden Knights are coming off of a 6-1 win over the Nashville Predators, both on Thursday.
WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 2022, 2 p.m. CST
WHERE: ESPN+, ABC Network
POTENTIAL LINES:
Alex DeBrincat - Dylan Strome - Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik - Jonathan Toews - Taylor Raddysh
Philipp Kurashev - Kirby Dach - Sam Lafferty
Boris Katchouk - Reese Johnson - MacKenzie Entwistle
Calvin de Haan - Caleb Jones
Jake McCabe - Seth Jones
Riley Stillman - Erik Gustafsson
Scratched: Henrik Borgstrom, Alex Vlasic
Injured: Jujhar Khaira (lower back), Tyler Johnson (concussion protocol), Connor Murphy (concussion protocol)
Derek King told the media following the Ducks game that Kevin Lankinen is to be expected back in net. On Thursday, Collin Delia made 43 saves on 46 shots to record his first win since May 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Blackhawks Record: 24-32-9 (57 Points, 7th � Central Division)
Blackhawks Last Game: 4-3 Win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, March 24
Golden Knights Record: 35-28-4 (74 Points, 4th � Pacific Division)
Golden Knights Last Game: 6-1 Win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday, March 24
Last Meeting: Saturday, January 8, 2022: Marc-Andre Fleury (G) made 30 saves on 31 shots to hold the Blackhawks lead over the Golden Knights, 2-1. Ben Hutton (D) started the scoring off for Vegas in the first period, but goals by Jujhar Khaira (LW) and Riley Stillman (D) sealed the deal.
WEEKLY RECAP:
Strength in Numbers: Something that Chicago will have to pay attention to is how successful Vegas has been on the power play. Following the Golden Knights win on Thursday, 3 of their 6 goals were off the powerplay throughout the meeting, which hindered Nashville's ability to gain momentum. Being able to remain out of the box and keep away from unnecessary penalties would be in the Hawks' best interest to come out successful.
Important Statistics: When taking a look at the numbers, both teams seem to be pretty equal when in direct comparison to each other. The Power Play Percentage is almost equal, the Blackhawks falling at 20.6 and the Golden Knights falling around 19.3. Another statistic worth mentioning is the Faceoff Percentage, which comes to 48.5 and 49.1, respectively. Gaining control of the puck right from the drop is important when it comes to controlling the speed of play, and it is especially important to have clean passes off the faceoffs to catch the defensemen on their heels.
A Look Towards Vegas: This is the second out of three meetings between the two teams this season and Vegas will be searching for revenge after a narrow loss to the Hawks back in January. However, it goes without saying that Fleury (G) was a huge part of that game, and it will be interesting to see how Lankinen (G) steps up here. Vegas had a confident win on Thursday and will be coming out the gate with zero hesitation, and they are more than happy to welcome the Blackhawks back to T-Mobile Arena. After the strange situation regarding Evgenii Dadonov's trade, he went on to score 1 goal and have 2 assists to help the Knights defeat Nashville. Chandler Stephenson (C) also had a multi-point night with 1 goal and 2 assists, as well as Jonathan Marchessault (C) who had 3 assists. In net, Logan Thompson (G) has been on a streak with 5 consecutive starts and it is anticipated that he will start again in today's meeting; he went on to make 36 saves on Thursday. His confidence has only grown since his recall from the Henderson Silver Knights and today should be no different.
