Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks (19-8-1, 39 points) and Boston Bruins (15-12-1, 31 points) face-off for the first of two meetings this season live from the TD Garden in Boston. The game can be live streamed here. Chicago fans can hear all of the action on WGN 720 while Boston fans can do the same on WBZ 98.5.
Chicago has won seven straight games and plays the third match of a four-game road trip while Boston returns home for a two-game stand after dropping three of four contests on its last road trip.
The Blackhawks sit atop the Central Division while the Bruins are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Blackhawks are coming off of a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and are preparing to face the returning Zdeno Chara as the Bruins captain is expected back in the lineup after missing 19 games with a torn knee.
"He can really make an impact on the game with his size and his presence and his defending ability and also may be a threat on the power play in front of the net," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said via NHL.com. "He brings a lot to the table."
Offensively, the Blackhawks have been paced by Patrick Kane as he has a team-best 26 points off of 12 goals and 14 assists. Jonathan Toews has 11 tallies and 12 helpers for 23 points while Kris Versteeg has found the back of the net eight times and added 14 assists for 22 points.
The Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday and are excited to have their captain back, though they wouldn't commit to Chara being in the lineup officially after the morning skate.
"Not officially, but I'm counting on him," coach Claude Julien told NHL.com.
Patrice Bergeron has led the Bruins with 19 points off of five goals and 14 assists while Carl Soderberg has five markers and 13 helpers for 18 points and defenseman Dougie Hamilton has lit the lamp five times and added 12 assists for 17 points.
In net, Boston is set to turn to Tuukka Rask, who is 12-8-1 with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Chicago is slated to counter with Scott Darling in the crease and he is 4-1-0 with a 1.76 GAA and a .939 save percentage.
The Blackhawks look for their eighth straight win while the Bruins hope to start a two-game winning streak when the puck drops at the TD Garden tonight in Boston.
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