OILERS (31-19-8) at BLACKHAWKS (35-17-5)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, WGN, NHL.TV
Oilers team scope
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid will play his first game in Chicago on Saturday. McDavid missed each game at the Chicago Blackhawks last season because of a broken clavicle. "I'm definitely excited, it's definitely a special building and the guys say it's probably the coolest building to play in, especially during that anthem when [the crowd] is going crazy," McDavid told Oilers TV on Saturday. "The atmosphere should be electric, so I'm excited about that." Edmonton is looking to extend their winning streak to three games when they begin a six-game road trip. The Oilers are in a tie with the Anaheim Ducks for second place in the Pacific Division, four points behind the San Jose Sharks. Edmonton is looking to take advantage of Chicago playing their first game after their six-day break. "Over the last little bit, teams coming off their break tend to have a tough time and maybe aren't as successful as the ones that are playing," coach Todd McLellan said. "It's our job to continue that trend. I don't think the task will be easy, they're a veteran team, they played a lot of hockey and their rest may have helped them more than have hurt them." Edmonton is looking for their first win in Chicago since a 6-5 victory on March 10, 2015 (0-4-1).
Blackhawks team scope
The Blackhawks return from their break looking to extend a five-game winning streak. Chicago is 8-3-0 in its past 11 games. "Concerns are, when we're playing a team in that situation where it's like the start of the season, coming off breaks, we're always emphasizing shooting the puck, getting traffic at the net," coach Joel Quenneville said after the morning skate Saturday. "And then our concern is being ready to play with the mental and simple approach is what we're trying to do and making sure that there's a purpose behind how we're ready to start. Especially against a quick team like this, we want to make sure we're going to be aware of their rush game and their transition game. That's why we want to be simple and ready." Chicago is second in the Central Division, seven points behind the Minnesota Wild. Goaltender Corey Crawford will start. "I got a lot of rest," Crawford said on Friday. "It's important, we played so much, not just physically, but mentally, to get away from it, relax for a little bit. That's definitely important. The guys seem refreshed and ready to go again."
Oilers projected lineup
Patrick Maroon -- Connor McDavid -- Jordan Eberle
Milan Lucic -- Leon Draisaitl -- Anton Slepyshev
Drake Caggiula -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Zack Kassian
Matt Hendricks -- Mark Letestu -- Iiro Pakarinen
Andrej Sekera -- Matt Benning
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Brandon Davidson -- Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Jordan Oesterle
Injured: Darnell Nurse (foot), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Jujhar Khaira (upper body), Kris Russell (lower body), Benoit Pouliot (upper body)
Blackhawks projected lineup
Nick Schmaltz -- Jonathan Toews -- Richard Panik
Artemi Panarin -- Artem Anisimov -- Patrick Kane
Ryan Hartman -- Tanner Kero -- Marian Hossa
Dennis Rasmussen -- Marcus Kruger -- Andrew Desjardins
Duncan Keith -- Niklas Hjalmarsson
Michal Kempny -- Brent Seabrook
Brian Campbell -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Corey Crawford
Scott Darling
Scratched: Jordin Tootoo
Injured: Michal Rozsival (lower body)
Status report
Russell will miss his fifth straight game but traveled with the Oilers and expected to return to the lineup during the road trip … Pouliot did not travel, but is expected to join Edmonton during the road trip … Kero and Schmaltz were each sent Rockford of the American Hockey League earlier in the week and were recalled Thursday … Seabrook will play in his 900th NHL game … Quenneville said Rozsival won't play, but could return Sunday at the Buffalo Sabres.
Who's hot
Kane is on a five-game point streak (four goals, five assists). … Keith has one goal and six assists in his past five games … Panik has three goals and two assists in his past three games … McDavid has five goals and 11 assists in his past 13 games … Draisaitl has six goals and seven assists in his past 13 games … Klefbom has two goals and two assists in his past two games.
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