NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks. Coverage begins 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
On the morning of Jan. 3, the Blues were 15-18-4 and last in the NHL. Since then, they have gone 28-10-4 to become the seventh team since the 1967 expansion – and first in over 20 years – to make the playoffs after ranking last in the entire League at any point after Jan. 1.
Since the Blues are in the hunt for the Central crown, only one team in NHL history has won its division after sitting in last place at any point after its 20th contest: the 2007-08 Capitals, who sat in last place overall through 30 games before claiming the Southeast Division title.
The Blues remarkable turnaround makes Craig Berube a contender for the Jack Adams Award. In case you were wondering, there is precedent for a coach winning the award after taking over midseason – it has happened three times since the inception of the award in 1973-74, most recently by Ken Hitchcock of the Blues.
After rallying to force OT on Monday to keep their season alive, the Blackhawks were officially eliminated on Tuesday by virtue of Colorado’s win over Edmonton. The Oilers led that game 2-0 in the second period, but the Avs scored six unanswered goals to put a firm grasp on the second Wild Card spot. That result also eliminated Minnesota from playoff contention.
For Chicago, this now marks two straight years without a playoff appearance, three straight years without a playoff win, and four straight years without a playoff series win.
[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET – NBCSN]
WHAT: St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks
WHERE: United Center
WHEN: Wednesday, April 3, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Blues-Blackhawks stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BLUES
Brayden Schenn - Ryan O’Reilly - Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz - Oskar Sundqvist - David Perron
Patrick Maroon - Tyler Bozak - Robert Thomas
Zach Sanford - Ivan Barbashev - Alex Steen
Vince Dunn - Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester - Colton Parayko
Carl Gunnarsson - Robert Bortuzzo
Starting goalie: Jake Allen
BLACKHAWKS
Drake Caggiula - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat - Dylan Strome - Brendan Perlini
Brandon Saad - Artem Anisimov - John Hayden
Chris Kunitz - Marcus Kruger - Dominik Kahun
Duncan Keith - Erik Gustafsson
Dennis Gilbert - Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom - Connor Murphy
Starting goalie: Cam Ward
Six-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from United Center in Chicago, Ill. Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh alongside analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.