Montreal Canadiens (7-24-4, eighth in the Atlantic) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (13-18-5, seventh in the Central)
Chicago; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST
LINE: Blackhawks -182, Canadiens +152; over/under is 5.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens visit Chicago after Alex DeBrincat scored two goals in the Blackhawks' 4-2 win against the Blue Jackets.
The Blackhawks are 6-7-3 at home. Chicago scores 2.3 goals per game, the least in the Western Conference. DeBrincat leads the team with 23 total goals.
The Canadiens are 2-14-3 on the road. Montreal is last in the Eastern Conference averaging only 5.7 points per game. Jonathan Drouin leads the team with 17 total points.
In their last meeting on Dec. 9, Chicago won 2-0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Patrick Kane has 32 total points for the Blackhawks, seven goals and 25 assists. Brandon Hagel has five assists over the last 10 games for Chicago.
Nicholas Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 19 points, scoring seven goals and adding 12 assists. Drouin has 5 points over the last 10 games for Montreal.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 3-4-3, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.2 assists, 3.5 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.8 goals per game with an .882 save percentage.
Canadiens: 1-7-2, averaging 1.7 goals, 2.9 assists, 4.7 penalties and 11.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.9 goals per game with an .894 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blackhawks: Seth Jones: out (covid-19 protocol), Jake McCabe: out (covid-19 protocol).
Canadiens: Rafael Harvey-Pinard: out (health protocols), Louie Belpedio: out (covid-19), Alex Belzile: out (health protocols), Gianni Fairbrother: out (covid-19), Jesse Ylonen: out (health protocols), Kale Clague: out (health protocols), Cayden Primeau: out (covid-19), Alexander Romanov: out (health protocols), Jake Evans: out (health protocols).
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