The Hawks continue their homestand as they welcome Original Six rivals the New York Rangers to the Mad House. The Rangers got the better of the Hawks the last time these two teams met in New York, when they easily defeated the Hawks 4-1. The Rangers are having themselves a great season that currently sees them sitting at the top of the Metro division with a 4-point lead over the Hurricanes. They come in as winners of their last three and have a solid 6-3-1 record over their last ten. Former Blackhawk Artemi Panarin is having a fantastic year as he is leading the way for the team offense, putting up 67 points (31-36) in 51 games this year. This Rangers team seems to have one of the more complete rosters in the league, and it has shown this year that it gets solid production from almost every line. The interesting stat for this team comes from their goaltending. Igor Shesterkin is arguably one of the best goalies in the league, but he has been struggling to find a consistent game. Jonathan Quick seems to be finding his old self, and playing a lighter schedule seems to be helping his game a lot. He holds a 12-4-2 record and a.919 save percentage. For a team that has Stanley Cup dreams, knowing you have a backup who can step up for you is a huge relief.

Projected Line Up

Petr Mrazek will start in goal tonight vs. N.Y. Rangers.

Jason Dickinson is good to go. Rem Pitlick is in for Zach Sanford.

Jarred Tinordi (lower body) is a game-time decision. Louis Crevier will draw into the lineup if he can’t go. #Blackhawks

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 9, 2024

Some small changes in the line-up for Coach Richardson: Rem Pitlick will take Zach Sanford’s spot in the line-up, and Jarred Tinordi will be a game-time decision, with Louis Crevier next man up if he can't go. There really isn’t much that can be said about this struggling offense. The problem is well known and obvious, and the lack of scoring power in this line-up is frustrating, to say the least, but it's all for the greater good. We all knew this was going to be the case this season, but what we weren’t expecting was losing Bedard for this long of a period. Things should get a little bit better once he gets back into the lineup, but at this point, it’ll be a band-aid on a giant crack.

That’s going to be it for me; puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. central time. As always, let's go Hawks.

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