Blackhawks and the Kraken
And some poutine too.
The Chicago Blackhawks host the Seattle Kraken tonight at 7 pm CT. I wrote today’s game preview at On Tap Sports Net and will be covering the game.
Preview linked below, some NHL news, and some Habs thoughts (force-feeding you poutine).
On Tap Sports Net
How to Watch Blackhawks vs. Seattle Kraken: Live Stream, TV Channel, Start Time, Preview
NHL News
Boston Bruin Charlie McAvoy is out indefinitely after taking a puck to the face thanks to a slapshot from the Montreal Canadiens’ Noah Dobson.
Victor Hedman has missed five games with an undisclosed injury and is still a few weeks away.
Adam Lowry signed a five-year deal with a $5 million AAV with the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. The Jets are in third place in the Central Division with 24 points.
Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens play tonight against the Washington Capitals, the team that knocked them out of the first round of the playoffs last season. The Habs are 1-3-3 in their last seven, having lost in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night. Prior, they dropped three straight in regulation.
Zach Bolduc will get another look on the top line, which makes sense since Juraj Slafkovsky was bumped down to play with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen. That line had a 52.13% expected goals share.
Injuries (Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, Kaiden Guhle, and Alex Newhook) have seriously impacted the Habs, while goaltending remains a glaring issue. Montreal is 27th overall with a team save percentage of .889 at 5-on-5.
It is interesting, however, that Slafkovsky is now on the second line (in a good way). While head coach Martin St. Louis is giving Bolduc the Slafkovsky treatment (play with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to facilitate growth), Slafkovsky joins the second line to spread offense across the lineup instead of focusing on the top line. Montreal still needs to solve the 2C question mark, although rookie Kapanen is looking to be that solution. If Slafkovsky continues to improve (according to this article, he thrived on this line on Monday) and Bolduc looks good on the top line, a healthy Canadiens team is going to be deadly.
Oh, and Montreal finally gets a look at its new power play unit. They didn’t go on the man-advantage a single time on Monday.
Okay, that’s enough poutine for one newsletter.