With the chance at a third straight win staring them in the face on Thursday, the Chicago Blackhawks will finally feature all four of the pieces that they acquired at the NHL trade deadline.
Newly acquired forward Dale Weise has finally got his immigration issues sorted out, and he will be on the ice for the Blackhawks when they take on the Boston Bruins at T.D. Ameritrade Garden. Weise will slot into the lineup in place of Richard Panik, and will likely skate on the fourth line for the Hawks as they look to continue their winning ways.
The Blackhawks will also keep Christian Ehrhoff in the lineup after a solid debut against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. Playing alongside Trevor van Riemsdyk, Ehrhoff moved the puck effectively and had several quality scoring opportunities in the game, although his best chance fell by the wayside after he was unable to settle a rolling puck on the rush.
Finally, the Blackhawks will make one more tweak to their lineup as goaltender Scott Darling gets the nod in the second game of a back-to-back set. Darling will play in place of Corey Crawford, who picked up his 34th win of the season against the Red Wings.
The goaltender will likely have to be in top form, as Boston boasts one of the best offenses in the NHL. They are currently third in the league in scoring, averaging exactly three goals per game, and they have a myriad of weapons that will make life tough on Darling and the Blackhawks’ defensive corps.
Brad Marchand, snubbed from the first round of selections to Team Canada’s World Cup squad, has scored 32 goals this season, and along with Patrice Bergeron and Loui Eriksson have combined to form one of the best scoring trios in the NHL.
Even with those weapons to worry about, the Blackhawks’ offense should still be able to keep pace. They seem to be getting scoring from everywhere, with their second line still driving the squad. Both Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane are in the top 10 in league scoring after Wednesday’s win, with Kane still holding a healthy 17-point lead in the Art Ross race.
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The Hawks have also seemingly found an answer to their depth issues, as Andrew Ladd has settled into the top line left wing spot very nicely and Teuvo Teravainen has seemingly found a comfortable partner on the third line with Tomas Flesichmann. All three players will be key for the Hawks as they look to close out their brief road trip with a win on Thursday night.
