Blackhawks Continue Long Trip At Edmonton Oilers

The All-Star break provided a few NHL playoff contenders some extra rest to get healthy and make a run at the Stanley Cup in the second half of the season.  The Chicago Blackhawks are one of those teams, and welcomed back two of their top scorers on Tuesday when center Jonathan Toews and winger Patrick Sharp were activated from injured reserve at the start of a nine-game road trip.

Toews and Sharp each were recovering from wrist injuries, but their return was not enough to prevent a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks (31-15-4).  They will try to help their team bounce back and end a three-game skid on the next stop of their trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. (ET).

The Oilers (19-26-5) are coming off a 3-2 home win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday and have won the last two meetings, including a 9-2 rout back on November 19.  That game highlights a slate of eight games overall on Thursday.

The Blackhawks (29-15-7) are still chasing the Detroit Red Wings (34-16-1) for the lead in the very competitive Central Division that had four of the Western Conference’s top six teams heading into Wednesday.  The St. Louis Blues (29-13-7) are the only team of that group that will not play until Friday when they host the Los Angeles Kings (24-16-10).

Detroit maintained its cushion out west and won for the eighth time in nine games on Tuesday with a 3-1 road victory against the Calgary Flames (23-22-6), while the Nashville Predators (31-16-4) also did the Central proud by rallying back from a three-goal deficit in the third period for a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild (24-19-7) away from home as well.  Both teams will be in action again on Thursday as Nashville wraps up a two-game road trip against the Philadelphia Flyers (29-14-6) at 7:00 p.m. before Detroit visits Vancouver at 10:00 p.m.

The Predators have won their last five games, tied for the second-longest current winning streak with the Tampa Bay Lightning (22-23-4), who host the Winnipeg Jets (23-22-6) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.  The Pittsburgh Penguins (29-17-4) had won eight in a row prior to visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs (25-19-6) on Wednesday.

The Penguins are chasing the Flyers and New York Rangers (31-12-5) in the Atlantic Division and got some positive news on Tuesday when it was announced that captain Sidney Crosby is suffering from a soft tissue injury in his neck that is more treatable than a concussion or fracture.  Crosby skated with teammates on Tuesday morning but still is nowhere close to being cleared to play.