CHICAGO -- Here’s what to watch for when the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings play at the United Center on Wednesday:
• Something will have to give when the league’s best power play meets the league’s best penalty kill. The Red Wings have the top power play and have scored 51 goals on 196 chances for a 26.0 percentage. The Blackhawks have the top penalty kill and allowed 18 goals on 149 chances for an 87.9 percent success rate. The Blackhawks have killed off 14 of their last 15 penalties.
“Tonight, we play the top power play in the league, so it’s going to be a good test for us,” Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger said.
• The Blackhawks are 2-0-2 on their eight-game homestand and have won their last two games. They haven’t had a three-game winning streak early since early December. They are 35-18-4 with 74 points on the season and are 10 points back of the Nashville Predators and four points back of the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division.
• The Red Wings are on a three-game losing streak, but they have yet to lose consecutive games in regulation this season. They are 31-14-10 with 72 points and are in third place in the Atlantic Division.
• Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane leads the NHL with 63 points. The Red Wings are led by Henrik Zetterberg’s 49 points and Tomas Tatar’s 23 goals.
• The Blackhawks’ lines are expected to Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa, Kris Versteeg – Brad Richards – Kane, Bryan Bickell – Andrew Shaw – Ryan Hartman, Patrick Sharp – Marcus Kruger – Ben Smith. Their defenseman pairings are expected to be Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson, Kyle Cumiskey – Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith – Michal Rozsival.
• The Red Wings recalled forward Teemu Pulkkinen on Tuesday. He has 30 goals and 57 points in 44 games in the AHL this season. He’s expected to be on the Red Wings’ top line Wednesday.
