Blackhawks look to continue hot streak versus Oilers
The Chicago Blackhawks will look to increase their season-high winning streak to five games in a row when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
Chicago (20-24-9) has won four straight games by a margin of 22-13. The scoring binge has renewed hopes for a second-half surge and a possible postseason appearance.
Such talk might have seemed far-fetched only a few weeks ago, but the Blackhawks believe a turnaround is possible. The teams' early-season struggles led to the dismissal of Joel Quenneville, who was replaced by Jeremy Colliton.
"Crazier things have happened, so we've got to have that belief," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said to the Chicago Sun-Times. "I think it's exciting when you have purpose and you have a reason for playing. Every team believes they can make the playoffs, so why not us?
"We've had some ups and downs this year, but I think it's been a learning process, and we've all gotten better, so now is the time to play our best hockey and see what we can put together."
As Chicago is surging, Edmonton (23-24-5) is slumping. The Oilers are winless in their last five games (0-3-2) and have given up at least three goals in each of those contests.
The club would be in significantly worse shape if not for superstar center Connor McDavid, who has tallied 76 points (31 goals, 45 assists) in 51 games this season. The 22-year-old is on pace for his third consecutive 100-point season and recently reiterated to reporters that he does not want out of Edmonton.
"That's not the case at all," McDavid said in comments published by the Edmonton Sun. "I want to be part of the solution. The only people that seem to believe in us are the guys in the locker room, and we need to rally behind that."
The Oilers boast several other scorers, including Leon Draisaitl, who needs one more goal to reach 30 on the season. Draisaitl has four goals and four assists in 11 career games against the Blackhawks.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is third on the Oilers with 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 52 games.
Chicago also features offensive firepower on its roster. Twelfth-year veteran Patrick Kane, who is riding an 11-game point streak, leads the team with 76 points (31 goals, 45 assists) in 52 games.
Toews is next with 51 points (23 goals, 28 assists) in 53 contests. Alex DeBrincat has 47 points (26 goals, 21 assists) and enters Tuesday's matchup on a five-game point streak.
This is the third and final meeting of the regular season between the teams. The Oilers have won the first two games, including a 2-1 overtime win Oct. 28 in Chicago and a 4-0 win Nov. 1 on their home ice.
Edmonton is 12-13-1 at home this season. Chicago is 10-14-3 on the road.
"We went through a real tough stretch there," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook told the Sun-Times. "Hopefully, we're starting to come out of it and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."
--Field Level Media
