Tonight is a fun night for hockey fans, as all 32 teams will be in action as part of the 2nd edition of “Frozen Frenzy." The Hawks will take to the ice against the Vancouver Canucks for the first of three matches this season. Last year it was all Vancouver as the Hawks would go 0-3 against the Canucks, allowing 10 goals against and just managing to score 5. It’ll be a mini-revenge game for IIya Mikheyev, who was traded to the Hawks from Vancouver just before this year’s draft. He put up 59 points in 124 games with Vancouver. After a surprising season last year that ended in a Pacific Division title, the Canucks are off to a bit of a slow start. In their first three games, they went 0-1-2 but have since gone 2-0 with wins over the Flyers and Panthers. It was going to take a lot of magic to recreate last season, and with goaltending questions with Demko out and players like Elias Pettersson struggling, they are going to have to battle for every point.
As of writing, I do not see a projected start for the Canucks, but based on recent trends, I expect the Hawks will be facing off against a familiar face. Kevin Lankinen was a late addition to this team after it became clear that Demko wasn’t going to be available to return anytime soon. In his three starts, he holds a 2-0-1 record with a.953 save percentage and a shutout his last game against the Flyers. I was always a big fan of Lanks and wish it could have worked out better for him in Chicago, so I am happy to see him having success.
Well, talk about a drastic move. Coach Richardson will be healthy scratching Kurashev after what he said was poor play on Saturday against the Sabres. It is an interesting move, and I am not sure if it is a bit over the top or not. The days of accepting poor play are over in Chicago, and the coaching staff is holding the players to a higher standard. Taking out your second line center seems aggressive to me, especially with the lack of depth up the middle. I don’t see Athanasiou being much better in that role, but we might see this be a line-blending game with multiple guys getting second-line minutes. One thing is for sure: Craig Smith and Lukas Reichel deserve some more minutes after their play on Saturday. Currently they are slated as the 4th line, but again, that tends to not mean as much nowadays.
After the night off on Saturday, anticipate Petr Mrazek making his 5th start of the season. Currently 2-2 with a.911 save percentage, he looks to continue his streak of good starts.
Thats going to be it from me, puck drop is set for 7:15pm central time with coverage over on CHSN locally. As always, Lets Go Hawks!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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