Detroit will head into Chicago at 5-4-1 with the Blackhawks at 4-6-0. The lineup was posted in yesterday’s write up and it seems like the 3rd line with Berggren/Kasper/Tarasenko could be ripe for a good night as Chicago will focus on Larkin, Raymond, Kane and Debrincat with the top 2 lines (Compher and Copp w/Raymond on line 2). Kasper seems to be knocking on the door. Here are the team states to date:
Power play: DET - 26.5% (7th). CHI - 22.5% (10th)
Penalty Kill: DET - 67.6% (29th) CHI - 75% (21st)
Faceoff: DET - 50.7% (12th). CHI - 45.9% (29th)
Goals for: DET - 2.64 (25th). CHI - 2.77 (22nd)
Goals against: DET 3.18 (20th). CHI - 3.15 (16th)
The two teams are very close on power play, PK and goal differential. Detroit has the edge in faceoffs and that may be an opportunity to get the puck out of the D zone or set up a cycle in the O zone. This is a game Detroit needs to see a breakout by some of the players who are “knocking on the door”. Berggren and Kasper would both benefit if they found themselves in the goal column.
Let me know your thoughts heading into tonight as Detroit has now had another multi day stretch of practices and adjustments. Will there be a noticeable difference in play?
An interesting interview with Kasper was made available today: