CHICAGO -- Winning more than two games in a row is something the Chicago Blackhawks are looking to accomplish for the first time in nearly two months when they host the Arizona Coyotes at United Center on Monday.
Since their eight-game win streak between Nov. 26 and Dec. 11, the Blackhawks have gone 13-10-1 and won two consecutive games three times. After beating the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on Sunday, they have a chance to stretch their current streak to three straight in their second game against the Coyotes this season.
Chicago is coming off a seven-game road trip; the game before they left was a 6-1 Blackhawks win against the Coyotes. It will be the first of eight straight home games for the Blackhawks and the second half of a back-to-back set.
Their record against teams currently outside the Stanley Cup Playoffs hasn't been good since the calendar flipped to 2015, going 4-5-0 since New Year's Day. They started the season 13-1-1 against opponents that currently are non-playoff teams.
Monday will be the first half of a back-to-back set for the Coyotes, who are one of the non-contending teams in the Western Conference. Arizona will play the Blues in St. Louis on Tuesday.
Neither team held a morning skate.
Goalie Corey Crawford is expected to start for Chicago, while Mike Smith, who gave up all six goals the previous time the teams played, will start for Arizona.
Each goalie has been hot lately. Smith has a 1.30 goals-against average and .959 save percentage in his past three starts (93 saves on 97 shots), while Crawford is 3-1-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .938 save percentage in his previous four games.
Here are the projected lineups:
COYOTES
Tobias Rieder - Antoine Vermette - Shane Doan
Lucas Lessio - Brendan Shinnimin - Sam Gagner
Lauri Korpikoski - Kyle Chipchura - David Moss
Brandon McMillan - Alexandre Bolduc - Martin Erat
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Zbynek Michalek
Andrew Campbell - Connor Murphy
Scratched: Chris Summers, B.J. Crombeen
Injured: Mikkel Boedker (spleen surgery), Martin Hanzal (upper body), Joe Vitale (upper body)
BLACKHAWKS
Brandon Saad - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp - Brad Richards - Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell - Andrew Shaw - Teuvo Teravainen
Daniel Carcillo - Marcus Kruger - Ben Smith
Duncan Keith - Michal Rozsival
Niklas Hjalmarsson - Brent Seabrook
Scratched: Tim Erixon, Joakim Nordstrom
Injured: Kris Versteeg (left hand), Trevor van Riemsdyk (patella)
Status report: McKenna was recalled from Portland of the American Hockey League on Monday, and goalie Louie Domingue was sent to the AHL. … Hanzal and Vitale did not make the trip with the Coyotes, but Boedker did just to stay around the team during his recovery. Boedker is out on a week-to-week basis. … Versteeg is close to returning but isn't expected to play until Wednesday at the earliest, when the Blackhawks host the Vancouver Canucks.
Who's hot: Kane's secondary assist on a goal by Bickell at the St. Louis Blues on Sunday gave him 59 points, which is tied with Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek and Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin for the NHL lead. … Yandle has a six-game point streak, the longest of the season for the Coyotes, and has 12 assists in his past 11 games.
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