NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2015-16 campaign tonight when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Colorado Avalanche at 8:30 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.
The Colorado Avalanche may be in last place in the Central Division, but things have been looking up lately.
The Avs are 5-2-0 this month and goaltender Semyon Varlamov is a big reason for that.
Since returning from a groin injury on Nov. 23, Varlamov has a 6-2-0 record (4-1-0 in December). In his last five starts, the 27-year-old has allowed just seven goals.
Varlamov was especially impressive in Sunday’s 42-save performance against the St. Louis Blues.
If Varlamov is the leader in goal, Matt Duchene is the go-to guy up front.
After finishing the month of October with just two points, the 24-year-old has 25 points in 21 games.
Beating the Blues was impressive, but stopping Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks is a whole different animal.
Kane enters Tuesday’s game on a 26-game point streak, which is the longest in the NHL since Mats Sundin hit 30 games with Quebec in ’92-93.
The 27-year-old has 16 goals and 40 points during that span.
Things have been a little more “quiet” for Kane recently, as he has no multi-point efforts in his last five games, but the ‘Hawks are still 4-1-0 in that stretch.
Chicago’s recent run has pushed them into second place in the Central Division.
Kane’s on-ice success has been well-documented, but one guy who seems to have fallen under the radar is Corey Crawford.
The 30-year-old is 4-0-0 in his last four starts and he’s allowed just two goals during his winning streak.
Crawford is also coming off back-to-back shutouts of Winnipeg and Vancouver on Friday and Sunday.
This is the first meeting of the season between these two Central Division rivals. They will face each other three more times in ’15-16.