The Chicago Blackhawks will look to make it two straight on Thursday following a 2–1 win over the New York Rangers on Monday. Since parting ways with former coach Luke Richardson, the team has gone 1-1. It fell to the Winnipeg Jets last weekend before bouncing back with a win against the Rangers.

Heading into the game with the Islanders, Chicago is tied for last place in the Central Division alongside the Nashville Predators, who also have 20 points. With both teams sitting nine points outside of sixth place, if Chicago wants to have any semblance of hope of making the postseason, they’ll have to string together wins.

Ahead of the puck drop, Chicago has several players on their injury report. Laurent Brossoit and Seth Jones are on the injured reserve list, along with netminder Petr Mrazek who is expected to be out for 1-2 weeks with a groin injury.

In addition, Alec Martinez and Craig Smith are expected to miss the game as both deal with undisclosed injuries.

Chicago Blackhawks’ projected lines for tonight’s game against New York

Forwards:

1. LW Ilya Mikheyev – C Connor Bedard – RW Philipp Kurashev
2. LW Taylor Hall – C Ryan Donato – RW Tyler Bertuzzi
3. LW Nick Foligno – C Jason Dickinson – RW Teuvo Teravainen
4. LW Pat Maroon – C Lukas Reichel – RW Joey Anderson

Defense:

1. Alex Vlasic – Wyatt Kaiser
2. Nolan Allan – Connor Murphy
3. Kevin Korchinski – T.J. Brodie

Goalies:

• Arvid Soderblom
• Drew Commesso

Powerplay:

1. Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Donato, Teuvo Teravainen, Connor Bedard, Alex Vlasic
2. Pat Maroon, Lukas Reichel, Philipp Kurashev, Taylor Hall, Kevin Korchinski

Penalty Kill:

1. Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, Alex Vlasic, Connor Murphy
2. Philipp Kurashev, Ilya Mikheyev, Wyatt Kaiser, TJ Brodie

Looking at the Blackhawks’ season so far, as well as upcoming games on Chicago’s schedule

This offseason, the Chicago Blackhawks made several big acquisitions under GM Kyle Davidson, bringing in Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen on multi-year deals.

Despite that, the team has struggled to find its form this year. It lost many close games early in the season due to third-period struggles, digging itself into a deep hole.

At the same time, Connor Bedard hasn’t found the back of the net like he did during his rookie season. While he’s logged 21 points this season, he’s tallied just five goals, something the team hopes will change.

Now, with newly-appointed coach Anders Sorensen looking to turn things around, the team will need to string together wins if wants to improve in the Central Division’s standings.

Following the game in New York, the team will head to New Jersey for a clash with the Devils on Saturday before returning home for a rematch with the Islanders in Chicago on Sunday.

From there, the Blackhawks will host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 19 before hitting the road for a three-game stretch that will take them through the week of Christmas.