Chicago Blackhawks (10-12-5, seventh in the Central Division) versus Boston Bruins (20-3-5, first in the Atlantic Division)
Boston; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Boston heads into a matchup with Chicago as winners of eight consecutive games.
The Bruins are 12-0-4 on their home ice. Boston ranks third in the league shooting 11.5% and averaging 3.6 goals on 31.2 shots per game.
The Blackhawks are 3-5-3 in road games. Chicago has converted on 13.4% of power-play opportunities, scoring 11 power-play goals.
The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 25 goals and has
Patrick Kane has collected 33 total points while scoring 14 goals and
LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 4-5-1, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.2 penalties and 8.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .914 save percentage.
Bruins: 9-0-1, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.6 assists, 3.5 penalties and eight penalty minutes while giving up 1.6 goals per game with a .951 save percentage.
Bruins Injuries: Brett Ritchie: out (illness), Patrice Bergeron: out (lower body).
Blackhawks Injuries: Robin Lehner: day to day (illness), Andrew Shaw: day to day (undisclosed), Dylan Strome: day to day (concussion), Duncan Keith: day to day (lower body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press