Players to Watch: CHI vs NJD (2/25/22)

(Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

After nearly a week off, the Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight. The New Jersey Devils are in town and the Blackhawks look to not have a repeat of their early-season outing. 

After a horrid season-opening game in Colorado, the Hawks jetted off to New Jersey where they did pick up a point but lost in overtime on a beautiful Jack Hughes goal. And the stick toss. Of course. 

Maybe the Blackhawks will be the team with the stick toss tonight. We can hope. 

The Blackhawks head into tonight’s matchup on a three-game losing skid. With all of those being at home, the Chicago fans are going to be hoping to see a win tonight for once. The Devils are on the second half of a back-to-back, so tonight would be an ideal time to get back in the Win column.

So, how are these two teams doing this season?

Through 51 games, the New Jersey Devils have a record of 18-28-5 for 41 points. That places them 7th of 8 in the Metro. In their last ten games, they’re 3-7-0, and #1 goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is still sidelined. Jon Gillies has handled most of the workload with both Blackwood and Bernier on IR. He’s played 13 games for the Devils going 3-8-1 with a 3.50 GAA and .893 sv%. Nico Daws picked up the win for NJ last night, so the Blackhawks likely face Gillies tonight. But, they haven’t been shy about playing their goalies on back-to-back nights while waiting out the injuries to their #1 and #2. 

Through 52 games, the Chicago Blackhawks have a record of 18-26-8 for 44 points. That also places them 7th of 8 in their division. In their last ten games, they’re 3-6-1 - so, basically the same as the Devils except the Blackhawks picked up a loser point. Marc-André Fleury has been a workhorse as of late. Kevin Lankinen was out for a few weeks with an injury, but he’s back tonight and getting the start. Lanks has a record of 2-5-4 with a 3.41 GAA and .889 sv% this season. It hasn’t been an ideal year for him, but there’s still plenty of time to turn it around. 

You know I can’t end this part without some Goal Differentials!

Through 51 games, the New Jersey Devils have scored 152 goals while allowing 183 for a DIFF of -31. 

Through 52 games, the Chicago Blackhawks have scored 126 goals while allowing 176 for a DIFF of . . . -50. Gulp. 

If you base your thoughts about tonight’s game solely off of those numbers, it looks to be a very long night. But, this is hockey where absolutely anything can happen and nothing makes sense. 

Here are your Players to Watch!

Kevin Lankinen

Kevin Lankinen is finally back from IR! That’s enough to celebrate right there. If you think all the way back to the beginning of the season, The New Jersey Devils were the first team that Lanks faced. He picked up the first point for the team, but they ultimately lost in OT - which birthed the Jack Hughes stick toss celebration. While the recreation of that was one of the high points of the All Star Weekend, let’s not have a repeat of the outcome from that October night. New Jersey played last night, maybe it’s a great reintroduction into the lineup for Kevin. 

Jakub Galvas

Jakub Galvas was recalled to Chicago earlier today. With the IceHogs having a 3-in-3 weekend, it would be hard to imagine he was recalled just to sit in the press box. The 22 year old defenseman has 5 NHL games under his belt. He hasn’t registered any points but averaged just over 18 minutes of ice time per game. Not too bad for a rookie. With the Rockford IceHogs, he has played 32 games scoring 2 goals and adding 8 assists. I know Blackhawks fans are very excited about this kid, and they have every reason to be. Let’s see how he looks against the Devils . . . as long as he’s actually in the lineup. 

Lukas Reichel

Speaking of kids that Blackhawks fans are really excited about . . . Lukas Reichel is back in Chicago. In his latest stint with the Hawks, Reichel has played 2 games but hasn’t registered a point. He’s still looking for that elusive first NHL point. Points haven’t been an issue for him in Rockford where he is at a point-per-game pace (33GP 14G 19A 33P). Does the first NHL point come tonight? We all hope so. 

And now I shall leave you with the top scorers for both clubs. Cheers!

Chicago Blackhawks

1. Patrick Kane: 48 Games Played 12 Goals 36 Assists 49 Points -17

2. Alex DeBrincat: 52 Games Played 29 Goals 13 Assists 42 Points -13

3. Seth Jones: 48 Games Played 3 Goals 28 Assists 31 Points -22

4. Brandon Hagel: 46 Games Played 14 Goals 13 Assists 27 Points -14

5. Dylan Strome: 39 Games Played 9 Goals 12 Assists 21 Points -6

6. Kirby Dach: 49 Games Played 7 Goals 13 Assists 20 Points -6

7. Dominik Kubalík: 52 Games Played 10 Goals 9 Assists 19 Points -17

8. Jonathan Toews: 43 Games Played 4 Goals 15 Assists 19 Points -11

9. Philipp Kurashev: 45 Games Played 4 Goals 10 Assists 14 Points -10

10. Erik Gustafsson: 42 Games Played 2 Goals 12 Assists 14 Points +2

Goalies

Marc-André Fleury: 38 Games Played 16-18-4 2.80 GAA .912 sv%

Kevin Lankinen: 13 Games Played 2-5-4 3.41 GAA .889 sv%

New Jersey Devils

1. Jesper Bratt: 46 Games Played 16 Goals 30 Assists 46 Points -1

2. Nico Hischier: 45 Games Played 14 Goals 19 Assists 33 Points -7

3. Jack Hughes: 31 Games Played 14 Goals 19 Assists 33 Points -11

4. Dawson Mercer: 51 Games Played 12 Goals 17 Assists 29 Points -3

5. Damon Severson: 49 Games Played 7 Goals 21 Assists 28 Points -16

6. Andreas Johnsson: 47 Games Played 11 Goals 15 Assists 26 Points +1

7. Yegor Sharangovich: 45 Games Played 11 Goals 14 Assists 25 Points -5

8. Pavel Zacha: 48 Games Played 12 Goals 12 Assists 24 Points -18

9. Tomas Tatar: 28 Games Played 9 Goals 11 Assists 20 Points -12

10. Dougie Hamilton: 31 Games Played 7 Goals 13 Assists 20 Points -7

Goalies

Jon Gillies: 12 Games Played 3-8-0 3.56 GAA .889 sv%

Nico Daws: 5 Games Played 2-1-0 2.64 GAA .906 sv%

Puck drops at 7:30pm CST!