Watch as the Blackhawks take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight on CSN and streaming live on CSNChicago.com. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. with Blackhawks Pregame Live. Then stick around after the final buzzer to watch Blackhawks Postgame Live for highlights and analysis.
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Five Things to Watch:
1. Teuvo Teravainen returns to Chicago.
It will be a former Blackhawks reunion at the United Center tonight, the big name being Teravainen, who was instrumental in the team's 2015 Stanley Cup run. He enters the game with a five-game point streak, and has nine goals and 11 assists in 37 games this season, as he returns to Chicago for the first time since being traded to Carolina in the offseason along with Bryan Bickell. Former Blackhawks Klas Dahlbeck, Joakim Nordstrom and Viktor Stalberg are also all expected to suit up.
2. Scott Darling's second crack against Carolina.
Darling is likely to earn the start in the second of a back-to-back, and it'll be against the team he last faced in Carolina. He stopped 25 of 28 shots (.893 save percentage) in a 3-2 loss last week, but should fare better this time around. Darling is 6-2-1 with a 2.09 goals against average, .933 save percentage and one shutout in 10 games at home compared to 4-2-1 with a 2.77 goals against average and .904 save percentage in eight games on the road.
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3. Here comes the top PK unit.
On Thursday, the Blackhawks faced the worst penalty kill unit in the league in the Buffalo Sabres. Tonight, they'll play the best. The Hurricanes have killed off 88.5 percent of their penalties this season, a success rate that would be the best since the New Jersey Devils finished the 2011-12 campaign with an 89.6 percentage. Carolina has hit a mini bump in the road, however, going 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) on the penalty kill in its last nine games.
4. Patrick Kane returning to MVP level?
After going pointless in his previous two games, Kane had a three-point effort in Thursday's 4-3 win over Buffalo, and scored the overtime winner for his 48th career game-winning goal. He has retaken the team-lead in points with 40, and ranks fifth in the NHL, trailing Connor McDavid by five for the league-lead. Kane has 12 points in his last 10 contests, but it still feels like he hasn't really hit his top gear yet — or maybe his 106-point season set a new unfair expectation. Perhaps a performance like Thursday's will be the beginning of a run that propels him back near the top of the NHL leaderboard as he aims to take home the Art Ross Trophy for the second consecutive season.
5. Vinnie Hinostroza promoted to top line.
Spencer Abbott's audition on the first line didn't go quite as planned. He logged only 8:34 of ice time in his season debut, and was demoted to the fourth line in the third period of Thursday's game. Vinnie Hinostroza joined Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the top line to finish the game, and is likely to start there tonight. Hinostroza has a season-high five shots on goal in last night's 4-3 win against Buffalo, and will look to anchor that left-wing spot for the time being.
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