AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

The Rangers are in Chicago for “Wednesday Night Rivalry” night against their bitter Blackhawks rival that they play twice a year and haven’t seen in the playoffs since there were 50 states in the Union (I don’t know if that’s true or not). That’s a very long winded way of saying the Rangers have a chance to extend their win streak to seven games.

Chicago is a weird team. They are very top heavy, but lack the depth and defense to be a legitimate contender. They also lack cap space to make moves, thanks to $23 million invested in Toews and Kane. They are a beatable team, but still potent. The defense will be tested.

Hawks Systems

Joel Quenneville is one of the best coaches in the game. His Hawks play an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck, keeping the back forward and defensemen ready to jump on turnovers. In the defensive zone, the Hawks play a standard zone defense looking to defend you in layers based on puck location. On special teams, they run a 1-3-1 power play, and a wedge+1 penalty kill.

Hawks Lines

Brandon Saad-Jonathan Toews-Richard Panik
Nick Schmaltz-Artem Anisimov-Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp-Tommy Wingels-Alex Debrincat
Lance Bouma-Tanner Kero-Ryan Hartman

Duncan Keith-Cody Franson
Connor Murphy-Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling-Jan Rutta

PP1: Schmaltz-Kane-Saad-Anisimov-Franson
PP2: Toews-Debrincat-Panik-Forsling-Keith

Corey Crawford gets the start.

Rangers Lines

Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash–Kevin Hayes–Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey–David Desharnais–JT Miller
Michael Grabner-Boo Nieves-Jesper Fast

Ryan McDonagh–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal–Steven Kampfer

PP1: Nash-Miller-Buchnevich-Zibanejad-Shattenkirk
PP2: Hayes-Desharnais-Kreider-Zuccarello-McDonagh

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: Paul Carey (healthy), Brendan Smith (healthy)

Crazy Prediction: A game where we don’t shrug when a questionable defensive play is made.

Game time is 8pm. Be sure to follow on Twitter for gifs, and on our Snapchat for in-game.

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