The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (21-17-8) vs. the Chicago Blackhawks (23-25-9) The Time: 8:30 PM EST The Broadcast: MSG+2 Hot Hawks: In their last 10, the Blackhawks are a very solid 7-3-0. In a very weak Western Conference, they are only four games off of a playoff spot. Prior to a loss against the Bruins on the 12th, they wracked up seven straight wins. Before that amazing win streak, the Blackhawks had a five game losing streak. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat are leading the charge. DeBrincat has 10 points in his last 5 games, while Toews and Kane both have 7 points in their last 5. After them, Erik Gustafsson has truly emerged this season. With four goals in his last five games, he is now sitting on 12 goals and 24 assists on the year, sitting him squarely at 4th in points. Dylan Strome has seemed to finally be living up to his draft spot, as he has 31 points in 33 games for the Blackhawks. Dominik Kahun has also picked up the pace, with 9 points in his last five. This team is full of players who are emerging to be important pieces for the Blackhawks. Devilish Woes: The Devils were recently embarassed 8-3, and the goaltending and defense problems have been reiterated. For positives, waiver pickup Ken Agostino picked up an assist in his first Devils game. Mirco Mueller scored his first goal of the season. And.... that’s about it. Both Keith Kinkaid and Cory Schneider have save percentages below .900, which is a major reason for the Devils struggle. Blackwood being sent back to the AHL days ago fully suggests the Devils have waived the white flag. Let’s hope on this Valentine’s day that the Love(joy) can have a great game, and increase his trade value. Also, hope for a good return on Marcus Johansson and anything for players like Drew Stafford. Pavel: Has Zacha finally emerged? The frustrating Devils forward has now picked up a goal in two games in a row, and sits on a fine 11. Each goal marks a new career best for Zacha, and his play has improved rather considerably this year. It’s starting to look like he has a future for this Devils team that can take whatever they can, especially considering regression from players such as Stefan Noesen and Miles Wood. Predicted Lineup: Cory Schneider will be starting for the Devils. Miles Wood will not be in the game either. I’d expect a similar lineup for the Devils from last game, which features star essential pieces like Kurtis Gabriel and Eric Gryba! I don’t understand the Devils affinity for players like them. Your Thoughts? : What do you think? Who will win? Who will score? Will Zacha continue his hot streak? Should we tank? Let me know in the comments below, and take care.<doc-sep>The Chicago Blackhawks got a big win at home against the New Jersey Devils on Valentines Day. It was a come from behind victory demonstrating a lot of character from this group. Here’s my five thoughts on the win/ 1 – Congrats to Chris Kunitz As you may have seen, Chris Kunitz hit 1,000 career games tonight. Jeremy Colliton gave a nice nod to Chris Kunitz by starting him on the Chicago Blackhawks first line tonight. Kunitz has had a heck of a career thus far with four Stanley Cup wins in 17 NHL seasons. Formally an un-drafted free agent, Kunitz now joins the exclusive 1,000 game club to add yet another milestone to a storybook career. 2 – The Blackhawks PK still needs work despite a good night If you’ve seen a Chicago Blackhawks game this year, you know their penalty kill isn’t great. As a result, they currently rank last in the league in penalty kill percentage. After going down 1-0 in the first an unfortunate penalty put the ‘Hawks short handed with their backs against the wall early. Their penalty kill couldn’t get the job done and as a result the New Jersey Devils extended their lead to 2. If the ‘Hawks weren’t playing the Devils this game might’ve been over right then and there. Fortunately, the PK was able to kill their second attempt but it wasn’t without a lot of help from Cam Ward in net. Then, a strong solo effort from Brandon Saad earned him his third short handed goal of the season on the Blackhawks third penalty kill of the night. Despite those two kills and Saad’s shorty, their penalty kill efforts still need work moving forward. This team has an uphill battle ahead of them if they wish to make the playoffs and fixing their penalty kill should be at the top of their list.<doc-sep>The Blackhawks scored five unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago. Patrick Kane felt the love on the night with a goal and two assists for his 79th three-point game of his NHL career. Kane’s 16-game point streak (12 goals, 23 assists) is the longest active run in the league. He also surpasses the late Stan Mikita’s 14-game assist streak for the longest in franchise history. Artem Anisimov and Brandon Saad both had a goal and assist. Drake Caggiula and Jonathan Toews each scored a goal. Cam Ward made 41 saves to pull Chicago within two points of Minnesota for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver is tied with Minnesota at 59 points, while Colorado and Chicago both have 57. Damon Severson and Travis Zajac scored for the Devils. Cory Schneider made 31 stops and is 0-17-4 since Dec. 27, 2017. Brett Seney picked up a turnover from Erik Gustafsson then sent a feed to Severson — who was left open as John Hayden was searching for a Valentine’s Day card like Ralph Wiggum from “The Simpsons” — and buried a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle to give the Devils a 1-0 lead at 7:14. The Devils doubled the lead with a tic-tac-toe passing sequence on a Brent Seabrook cross-checking penalty. Marcus Johansson stood at the goal line waiting for his date to the Yule Ball before sending a pass to Zajac between the circles to make it 2-0. Kane then reached into his quiver like Cupid and nocked three arrows for as many points. As Dylan Sikura was falling to the ice he slipped a pass to Kane, who jumped into the action during a delayed penalty and fired a wrist shot from the high slot to extend his point streak at 18:17. Caggiula ripped a shot from the right faceoff circle to tie it 2-2 just 20 seconds into the second period, with Kane collecting an assist for a franchise-record 15th straight game. Marcus Kruger, of all players, almost made it 3-1 during a flurry at the goalmouth but Schneider was able to cover the puck up before it at the chance to cross the line. Kane grabbed some loose Sweethearts candy in his own end then raced down to the offensive zone, where he spun away from a defender and sent a drop pass to Slater Koekkoek. The defenseman choo-choo-choosed to send a cross-ice pass to Jonathan Toews for a one-timer from the right circle at 13:12 of the second. Ward’s mask fell off twice in the third period during a Connor Murphy hooking penalty. The first time it looked like the puck hit Ward’s mask and caused a strap to come loose and the second time he did his best Taylor Swift impression and was able to shake it off to stop the play. The Blackhawks killed off the penalty and went 2 for 3 on the penalty kill on the night. Anisimov cleaned up a rebound in front to make it 4-2 at 13:36 then Saad tallied a short-handed goal less than two minutes later. Saad recorded his 300th NHL point with an assist on Anisimov’s tally. The Blackhawks honored forward Chris Kunitz prior to the game with a ceremony for his 1,000th NHL game. Up next Chicago continues its three-game homestand Saturday when they host Columbus. 3 Starz<doc-sep>
For the seventh time this season, the Devils walked away with less than two points despite holding a 2-0 lead. Their first-period, two-goal advantage was erased by five straight goals by the Chicago Blackhawks, which allowed them to grab a 5-2 win on Thursday at United Center in Chicago. Cory Schneider allowed all five goals, and despite making 31 saves, he dropped his 21st straight regular-season decision, dating back to Dec. 27, 2017. He is now 0-7-2 this season. Patrick Kane accounted for one goal and two assists for the Blackhawks, extending his point streak to 16 games. In two games against the Devils this season, Kane posted three goals and four assists. Scoring plays Both of the Devils’ goals came in the first period, where Damon Severson opened the scoring 7:14 into play. After picking up the puck on the left wall, Brett Seney skated to the middle through the left circle, and he hit a cutting Severson down the right side, where he whipped a high shot over Blackhawks goalie Cam Ward. The lead doubled at 16:42 when Travis Zajac landed a booming one-timer from the slot on the power play. His 13th goal of the season came off passes from Marcus Johansson and Jesper Bratt. But Kane responded with his goal less than two minutes later. On a delayed penalty, Kane hopped off the bench to join the play, where he gathered a puck at the blue line, skated into the high slot and sent a shot past Schneider at 18:17. That pulled the Blackhawks within 2-1 before intermission, and they evened the scored 20 seconds into the second period when Drake Caggiula connected on a shot from the inside of the right circle of a Kane feed. Slater Koekkoek found Jonathan Toews in the right circle for a one-timer at 13:12 to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead, which they never surrendered. The Devils made a hard push to open the third period, and they held a 19-8 edge in shots in the final 20 minutes, but the Blackhawks netted the only two goals. Artem Anisimov scored on a shot off a big rebound following a face-off at 13:36. Brandon Saad then scored off his own rebound on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush with 4:45 to play. Next up The Devils will end their three-game road trip when they end a back-to-back against the Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday at Xcel Center in St. Paul. They will return home a 6 p.m. game on Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.