The Chicago Blackhawks come out of the holiday break in dead last, 32nd place, of the NHL standings. At 13-17-6, they are trying to break a six-game losing streak against the 25-7-6 Dallas Stars. The break could not have come at a better time for Chicago. Their downward spiral came after a strong start to the season, but it is clear that the team has a long way to go at the NHL level. Scouting Dallas The Dallas Stars are one of the best teams in the league. They have a handful of elite players spread across a lineup filled with depth at forward and defense. Their goalie, Jake Oettinger, is one of the best in the world at the position. He is projected to start against Chicago. Steel - Johnston - Rantanen Robertson - Hintz - Bourque Hryckowian- Duchene - Benn Bäck - Faksa - Bastian Lindell - Heiskanen Harley - Lundkvist Capobianco - Petrovic Oettinger Mikko Rantanen is starting to look like himself now that he’s been in Dallas for a while. Other star forwards in their prime are around him, like Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, and Jason Robertson. On defense, it’s an amazing group led by Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley. The two of them play on different pairs, meaning one of them is on the ice for 3/4ths of the game. They are hard to create offense against, create chances themselves, and know how to cause a breakout. Veterans like their captain, Jamie Benn, and Matt Duchene are still incredibly productive, and they also provide leadership that allows the young players to learn how to play the right way. It’s a brilliant mix that the Blackhawks would love to find one day in the future. Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago The NHL schedule features a number of challenging tasks for certain teams throughout the year. One of them is being the road team the day after the holiday break. It’s extra difficult for Chicago because they have to take a long flight to Dallas. As a result, they have not hit the ice in four days. Their first time on will be warmups ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Stars. We won’t know line combinations until then. It is fair to assume that Spencer Knight will start after the long layoff; however, everything remains fluid. Ahead of the flight, the Blackhawks recalled forward Landon Slaggert to take the trip with them. With a back-to-back situation coming up (home vs the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday), it makes sense to have extra bodies. How To Watch The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7eb93bf6-baa0-483c-abc8-8e5819de9ccc.jpeg] Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/] team site to stay updated on the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-newshttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-dayhttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day] coverage, player features [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/playershttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/players], and more. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
