Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks (3-1-1) take the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes (2-2-2) live from PNC Arena in North Carolina. The game can be live streamed here. Chicago fans can hear all the bone-crunching action by turning their dials to 720 WGN while Carolina fans can do the same on 99.9 The Fan.
The Hurricanes enter the game looking to bounce back from a 5-3 home defeat to the Phoenix Coyotes Sunday by making a statement against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks while Chicago looks to keep rolling in just its second road game of the year.
Chicago enters tonight just three games behind the Central division-leading Colorado Avalanche, and has only lost one game in regulation through its first five tilts this season.
Despite playing well and being on a two-game winning streak, Chicago has only eclipsed two goals once in the last four games, which could be a concern moving forward. Patrick Kane has paced the Hawks with five points off of a team-high four goals and one assist while Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad have each netted two goals and two helpers for four points to start the season.
Kane scored a goal in the Hawks' 2-1 win over his favorite team growing up, the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, but when asked if he still had any dreams of playing for Buffalo, Kane had no regrets.
"Not really anymore," Kane told The Chicago Tribune. "It was a dream up until you get drafted and you start your career here. I'm pretty content with where I am in my career, especially being here in Chicago."
Carolina, meanwhile, has had some struggles on offense all season long to the point where coach Kirk Muller practiced Tuomo Ruutu on the top line with Eric Staal and Alexander Semin on Monday as he may juggle the lines.
"Just seeing a different look here today and experimenting in practice," Muller told NHL.com of the switch. "We'll make decisions tomorrow, but we're just seeing if it makes sense to make a couple of little changes without doing a major overhaul."
Staal has two goals and one assist for three points while Semin has added just one goal for his lone point on the season and Ruutu is scoreless through his first game. Jeff Skinner has led the 'Canes in points with seven off of two goals and five assists while Nathan Gerbe has a team-high three goals and two assists for five points through his current four-game points streak.
Between the pipes, Cam Ward has gone 0-2-2 while allowing 12 goals for a 3.32 GAA and a .903 save percentage for Carolina while Corey Crawford has gone 2-1-1 while giving up 10 goals and posting a 2.46 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
Chicago will look to expand on its dominance while Carolina continues to search for its offense when these teams square off tonight.
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