Blackhawks Game Day: 3 things to watch versus Senators

Chicago Blackhawks (4-3-2, 10 pts) vs Ottawa Senators (5-4-1, 11 pts)
7:45 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks are back at the United Center tonight to take on the Ottawa Senators. Tonight will be the second straight game in which they are hosting a team that played the night before. The Senators are riding a three-game winning streak and have been scoring in bunches. They will be a tough challenge for a Blackhawks team looking to rebound from a tough loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.

The Blackhawks have played very well against the Senators, going 12-1-1 in their last 14 games. Individually, numerous players have enjoyed success against Ottawa. Connor Bedard had three goals and five points in four career games. In 20 games, Andre Burakovsky has two goals and 12 points, including points in six of the last nine meetings. Teuvo Teravainen has four goals in seven career games against tonight’s starting goaltender, Linus Ullmark.

On the other bench, only five players on the Ottawa roster have scored against Spencer Knight, with Drake Batherson being the only player to do it more than once. Veteran David Perron has been a thorn in the side of the Blackhawks during his career. In 65 games, he’s scored 20 goals and 40 points.

Tyler Bertuzzi & Ilya Mikheyev, Game-Time Decisions

The Blackhawks held an optional morning skate today, with Tyler Bertuzzi participating and Ilya Mikheyev not. Bertuzzi did not play Sunday against the Kings, but his being on the ice this morning is a good sign he’s good to go. Mikheyev left the game early in the third period after an awkward fall into the end boards.

Head coach Jeff Blashill would not confirm either player’s status. He gave them both a “we’ll see” when asked if they’ll play against the Senators. We will have to wait until the pregame warmups to see who is in and who is out.

Power Play Needs to Step Up

Bedard said it was terrible. Blashill says it has been good enough. The power play was one of the biggest reasons the Blackhawks lost to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. It wasn’t that they went 0-for-5; it was how bad it looked. Their first four chances produced just one shot on goal as getting the puck over the blue line was a huge challenge.

Blashill made a slight change to the units at yesterday’s practice, putting Burakovsky up on the top unit in place of Teuvo Teravainen. The switch is a logical move, as Burakovsky is the team's best player at zone entries. He should help get the puck into the offensive zone and establish possession.

“This would not be a knock on Teuvo at all,” Blashill said. “I could point to five guys on that unit and say different guys have had different reasons for its lack of success. I think Burky’s been really, really good on the power play so far from what I’ve seen. So maybe it gives us a spark.”

The Senators could be precisely what the Blackhawks’ power play needs to break out of its 1-for-13 funk. They enter tonight’s game with the 29th-ranked penalty kill, at 65.6 %.

A Big Test for Spencer Knight

Knight has been terrific in his first six starts of the season. He is showing no signs that he can’t handle being an NHL number one goaltender, not that there were many concerns to begin with.

His 1.97 goals-against average (GAA) is fifth-best among goaltenders with at least five starts, and his .937 save percentage (SV%) is third. Knight leads the NHL with a 9.8 goals saved above expected.

The Senators will provide a massive test for Knight. They come in riding a three-game winning streak, and their offense has been clicking. They beat the Boston Bruins 7-2 last night after a 7-1 thrashing of the Washington Capitals on Saturday, marking the first time they have scored seven goals in back-to-back games since 1993.

Season Series

10/28 vs OTT
12/20 @ OTT

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Ryan Donato (5)
A-Teuvo Teravainen (7)
P-Frank Nazar (9)
PPG-Tyler Bertuzzi/Andre Burakovsky/Donato/Connor Bedard (1)
GWG-Donato (2)
SOG-Bedard (25)
PIM-Louis Crevier (21)

Senators Team Leaders

G-Shane Pinto (8)
A-Tim Stutzle/Drake Batherson/Claude Giroux (6)
P-Pinto/Stutzle/Batherson/Dylan Cozens (10)
PPG-Cozens (3)
GWG-Pinto/Batherson/Giroux/Olle Lycksell (1)
SOG-Pinto (32)
PIM-Pinto (8)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.89 (22nd)
GA/G-2.44 (4th)
PP%-15.6 (26th)
PK%-85.0 (9th)
SOG/G-24.3 (30th)
SA/G-30.0 (22nd)
FO%-48.0 (23rd)
PIM/G-12:13(28th)

Senators Team Stats

GF/G-3.70 (5th)
GA/G-3.70 (28th)
PP%-35.1 (1st)
PK%-65.6 (29th)
SOG/G-29.8 (8th)
SA/G-25.0 (4th)
FO%-59.6 (1st)
PIM/G-9:12 (16th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Ryan Donato
Landon Slaggert-Jason Dickinson-Colton Dach
Ryan Greene-Nick Foligno

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Louis Crevier

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee), F-Ilya Mikheyev (upper body)

Senators Probable Lines

Forwards
Nick Cousins-Tim Stutzle-Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig-Dylan Cozens-David Perron
Michael Amadio-Shane Pinto-Claude Giroux
Kurtis MacDermid-Lars Eller-Fabian Zetterlund

Defensemen
Jake Sanderson-Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot-Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven-Nikolas Matinpalo

Scratched
F-Olle Lycksell, D-Jordan Spence

Injured
G-Mads Sogaard (undisclosed), F-Brady Tkachuk (thumb)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (3-2-1, 1.97 GAA, .937 SV%, 0 SO) vs Linus Ullmark (4-3-1, 3.11 GAA, .870 SV%, 0 SO)