Blackhawks Game Day Preview: Arvid Soderblom returns to face the Ducks

Chicago Blackhawks (4-6-1, 9 pts) @ Anaheim Ducks (4-4-2, 10 pts)
7:00 pm CT – Honda Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: 720 AM (Wiedeman/Murray)

The Chicago Blackhawks are right back at it Sunday night as they close out their five-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks. The Blackhawks are 2-2-0 on the trip and are coming off a dramatic 4-3 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings, in which they scored three third-period goals. Meanwhile, the Ducks dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins their last time out.

The Blackhawks have enjoyed considerable success against the Ducks in recent memory. They won two out of three games last season and are 10-2-1 in their previous 13 games against Anaheim. Taylor Hall has two goals and four points in his active four-game point streak versus the Ducks. The Blackhawks should dress the same lineup that we saw against the Kings, with the lone exception being goaltender Arvid Soderblom making his first start since Oct. 19 against the Buffalo Sabres. He is 1-1-0 in his career versus the Ducks, with a .909 save percentage (SV%) and 3.00 goals-against average (GAA).

The Ducks have lost five out of their last seven games. They are dead last in the NHL in goals per game and 29^th in shots on goal per game and power-play percentage. The biggest reason they have four wins this season is goaltender Lukas Dostal. His .945 SV% is the second-highest in the NHL, and he is one of only three goaltenders with a GAA under 2.00.

Season Series

11/3 @ ANA
11/19 vs ANA
3/1 @ ANA

Quotables 

“I think we’re learning as a team what it takes to win, especially in those tight games. We’re right there in all these games. A lot of them have been decided by one or two goals. We’re playing some important hockey right now and we’re playing some good hockey, but we have to have continuous effort over the boards and set ourselves up for success.

Ducks defenseman Brian Doumoulin

“I think we talked about you can’t play this game without being emotionally engaged. They were ready to go, and we weren’t, and we kind of tiptoed in. Once the guys got emotionally engaged in the game, we started to get our game and play the way we needed to. It wasn’t perfect, but that’s okay. We’re looking for results right now. It matters to know how to win and to find ways to win. You’re not going to play your best every night, but if you can find a way to win, you’re growing as a group; we’ll rectify our game plan and our gameplay tomorrow and hopefully come up with a better game that allows us to sustain that all game long.”

Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno

“I feel like that’s what a good hockey team does. You’re in the game every single night, and that’s what we’re trying to change here and trying to win games. And if you’re leading, you need to keep the lead and win the games like that. So, it tells you a lot that the team is on the rise. It’s way better than it has been.”

Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Ryan Donato (6)
A-Seth Jones (7)
P-Connor Bedard (9)
PPG-Teravainen/Tyler Bertuzzi (2)
SOG-Bedard (40)
PIM-Pat Maroon/Connor Murphy (21)

Ducks Team Leaders

G-Troy Terry (5)
A-Mason McTavish (5)
P-Terry (8)
PPG-Terry/Leo Carlson (2)
SOG-Cutter Gauthier (26)
PIM-McTavish (12)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.67 (23^rd)
GA/G-3.25 (19^th)
PP%-18.4 (18^th)
PK%-74.3 (23^rd)
SOG/G-27.6 (22^nd)
SA/G-30.0 (24^th)
FO%-45.7 (29^th)
PIM/G-8:36 (13^th)

Ducks Team Stats

GF/G-2.20 (32^nd)
GA/G-2.70 (6^th)
PP%-12.9 (29^th)
PK%-77.8 (18^th)
SOG/G-26.4 (29^th)
SA/G-35.7 (32^nd)
FO%-41.7 (32^nd)
PIM/G-11:00 (27^th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Philipp Kurashev-Connor Bedard- Ryan Donato
Taylor Hall- Nick Foligno-Tyler Bertuzzi
Ilya Mikheyev-Jason Dickinson-Teuvo Teravainen
Pat Maroon-Lukas Reichel-Craig Smith

Defensemen
Wyatt Kaiser-Seth Jones
Alex Vlasic-Connor Murphy
Nolan Allan-T.J. Brodie

Scratched:
F- Andreas Athanasiou, F-Joey Anderson

Injured:
D-Alec Martinez (groin), G-Laurent Brossoit (knee)

Ducks Probable Lines

Forwards
Robby Fabbri-Leo Carlsson-Ryan Strome
Cutter Gauthier-Trevor Zegras-Alex Killorn
Frank Vatrano-Mason McTavish-Troy Terry
Brock McGinn-Isac Lundestrom-Brett Leason

Defensemen
Cam Fowler-Olen Zellweger
Pavel Mintyukov-Brian Dumoulin
Jackson Lacombe-Radko Gudas

Scratched
F-Ross Johnston, D-Urho Vaakanaiene

Injured
G-John Gibson (appendectomy), G-Tomas Suchanek (ACL)

Goaltending Matchup

Arvid Soderblom (0-1-1, .911 SV%, 2.52 GAA, 0 SO) vs Lukas Dostal (4-2-2, .945 SV%, 1.99 GAA, 1 SO)

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