Tonight the Chicago Blackhawks (24-11-4) will skate into Philadelphia to play the Flyers (22-11-4) in a battle of NHL heavyweights. It will be the Hawks first trip to the Wells Fargo Center since Patrick Kane’s Game 6 overtime winner sent the Hawks to the Stanley Cup 2 seasons ago. For many Hawks this will bring back memories of the best night of their lives. Let’s hope the trip down memory lane ends when the puck drops and the Hawks are ready to play as Philadelphia is once again a Stanley Cup contender.
For Chicago, it will be Ray Emery in goal who had a hot December in place of Corey Crawford for most of the month going 5-1-1. The Hawks placed center Marcus Kruger and defenseman Steve Montador on injured reserve in addition to a 7 game suspension handed down by the NHL to Dan Carcillo for a boarding incident against the Oilers that drew a 5 minute major and game misconduct. Carcillo is possibly out for the season with a knee injury suffered on the play. The Hawks recalled center Andrew Shaw to the active roster on a two way deal and recalled defenseman Dylan Olsen from Rockford. Both are expected to play and make their National Hockey League debuts tonight against Philadelphia. Marian Hossa leads the Hawks with a team high 41 points and Jonathan Toews leads the team with 22 goals. This is a big game for Chicago as the Vancouver Canucks moved a point ahead in the Western Conference standings last night, and the Detroit Red Wings lurk just one point behind in the Central Division. The Hawks dropped a 4-3 decision to the Edmonton Oilers Monday night in a game that many Hawks afterwards admitted is a team they just cannot lose to.
The Flyers come in after losing 3-2 in the Winter Classic to their bitter rivals the New York Rangers. Philadelphia is just 4 points behind the Rangers for the Eastern Conference lead. Offseason acquisition Ilya Bryzgalov will be in net for the Flyers after being benched for the Winter Classic and voicing his frustrations to the media. Bryzgalov is 14-8-4 with a 3.01 GAA and a .890 save percentage on the year. Numbers that need to be better for a high dollar goaltender. Claude Giroux is mister everything for the Flyers leading the team in points with 46, goals with 18, and assists with 28. Philly is just 2-3-1 in their last 6 games. The Flyers will be looking for revenge for the Hawks winning the 2010 Stanley Cup in their building the last time the teams met in Philadelphia.
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