The Anaheim Ducks will look to hand the Chicago Blackhawks their first regulation loss when the two teams face off on Tuesday evening.
The Hawks have not lost a game in regulation since the start of the season and their record stands at 10-0-2. More importantly, the team has been dominant in its last three games; Chicago dominated the San Jose Sharks 5-3, defeated Nashville 6-2, and shutout Phoenix 3-0 in that span.
"It feels great," Goalie Corey Crawford said about his team's start. "It seems like everyone gets along. We have some great veterans that lead the way and it seems like the new guys have just followed in nicely. It's just a great bunch of guys and we're playing great hockey right now."
The team is the second highest scoring team and has the fifth best defense in the league. Patrick Kane is having an MVP season with nine goals and 10 assists.
The team will have to fend off a hot Anaheim Ducks team that has won five of six games. Scoring was a problem a season ago, but the Ducks have had that in abundance. In their latest win, the Ducks won 6-5 against the St. Louis Blues. Anaheim got goals from Bobby Ryan, Teemu Selanne, Nick Bonino, Saku Koivu, and Andrew Cogliano. The team has had strong goaltending from Viktor Fasth who has taken over the mantle as the number one man.
"It's not all peaches and cream," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said of his goaltender. "The thing is he won, and that's all that counts. (Former Boston goalie) Gerry Cheevers once said he wouldn't have cared if it was 1-0 or 10-9; he made that save to win the game."
Anaheim Wins If: If it starts getting more consistent goaltending. Fasth has been good, but he hasn't been as good as Chicago's duo. Chicago is going to score, but it will be up to Fasth to limit their output.
Chicago Wins If: It continues to do what it has been doing to this point: Consistent scoring, good goaltending, tight defending, and intelligent coaching.
Predictions: I think the Ducks end Chicago's run with a 3-1 win.
Start Time: 8:30 PM EST
TV: PRIME, CSN-CH
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