CHICAGO -- Here’s what to watch for when the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames play at the United Center on Wednesday:
The Blackhawks are off to a 2-0-0 start to the season. They pulled out a less-than-impressive 3-2 shootout win over the Dallas Stars in the season opener and followed that up with a strong 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford will make his third consecutive start. He has a 1.93 goals-against average and stopped 53 of 57 shots for a .930 save percentage through two games. It’s his best save percentage and goals-against average after two games.
The Blackhawks are expected to go with the same lineup as the first two games. Their lines have been Patrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad – Andrew Shaw – Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell – Brad Richards - Ben Smith, Daniel Carcillo – Marcus Kruger – Jeremy Morin. Their defenseman pairings have been Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson – Trevor van Riemsdyk, Johnny Oduya – David Rundblad.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is looking for more from the Bickell - Richards - Smith line. The three players have combined for zero points and have a minus-1 Corsi in 5-on-5 situations through two games.
"Just get a little bit more comfortable with each other and have more presence with the puck, patience with it and more offensive zone time," Quenneville said after the morning skate.
Sharp and Keith scored goals in each of the first two games. They share a team-leading three points along with Kane and Saad.
Brandon Bollig will play against the Blackhawks for the first time since being traded to the Calgary Flames in the offseason. He signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent in April of 2010. He worked his way up from the AHL to the NHL, played in 125 regular-season games with the Blackhawks over three seasons and was part of their 2013 Stanley Cup team. He signed a two-year extension with the Blackhawks in March.
The Flames are 2-2-0 after four games. They’re coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Mark Giordano had a goal and an assist in the victory and leads the Flames with five points.
Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg and defenseman Michal Rozsival will not play against the Flames. Rozsival returned to practice this week after suffering an upper-body injury. He is expected to play against the Predators on Saturday. Versteeg has a lower-body injury. He is expected to begin skating later this week.
