Blackhawks at Oilers preview

BLACKHAWKS (25-22-8) at OILERS (29-20-6)
9 p.m. ET; SNW, NBCSCH+, ESPN+, NHL.TV

McDavid is expected to miss 2-3 weeks after sustaining a left quad injury in a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. He crashed into the end boards along with Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro at 3:58 of the second period and finished the game.
Goalie Mike Smith will start for Edmonton, which is 9-3-2 in its past 14 games and has not played without McDavid, the second-leading scorer in the NHL, this season (81 points).
Goalie Robin Lehner will start for Chicago, which is 0-1-2 in its past three games and 1-2-2 in its past five following a five-game winning streak.

Players to watch

Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in his past 15 games.
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in his past 14 games.

They said it

"Everyone knows what he can do on any given night, especially when big points are on the line, but it doesn't change our approach. When guys like him and [Leon] Draisaitl are on the ice, you have to be aware of those guys and what they can create out of nothing. But it doesn't mean we can let off the gas pedal by any means." -- Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews on Connor McDavid
"It goes without saying how important he is to our team, not only on the ice but in the locker room. He's going to be missed. He's the best player in the League. We're going to have to try to pick up some of his slack by committee. We know he's going to be hungry to get back in the lineup as soon as possible." -- Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse on Connor McDavid

Blackhawks projected lineup

Dominik Kubalik -- Jonathan Toews -- Drake Caggiula
Brandon Saad -- Kirby Dach -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- David Kampf -- Alex Nylander
Zack Smith -- Ryan Carpenter -- Matthew Highmore
Duncan Keith -- Erik Gustafsson
Adam Boqvist -- Connor Murphy
Slater Koekkoek -- Olli Maatta
Robin Lehner
Corey Crawford
Scratched:Dylan Strome, Nick Seeler
Injured:Brent Seabrook (shoulder), Calvin de Haan (shoulder), Andrew Shaw (concussion)

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto
Sam Gagner -- Gaetan Haas -- Alex Chiasson
Josh Archibald -- Riley Sheahan -- Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira -- Colby Cave - Patrick Russell
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Caleb Jones -- Matt Benning
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched:William Lagesson
Injured:Connor McDavid (quad), Joakim Nygard (hand), Kris Russell (concussion), James Neal (foot)

Status report

Boqvist will return to the lineup after missing one game with an upper-body injury. … Strome, a forward, will be a healthy scratch. … Cave was recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Sunday and will play. … Haas will draw into the lineup with McDavid out. ... Nygard, a forward, signed a one-year contract with Edmonton on Tuesday. He has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 33 games this season.

Stat pack

Dach has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games. … Saad has six points (five goals, one assist) in seven games since returning from an ankle injury. … Smith is 7-0-2 in his past nine starts. … Nugent-Hopkins has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games.