The Chicago Blackhawks have been the most impressive team in the NHL this season and the team is looking as strong as it did the year it won the Stanley Cup, as they have yet to lose a game in regulation.
The Blackhawks have gone 12-0-3 this season and have earned 27 points, but on Tuesday night they will be facing a Vancouver Canucks team at the United Center that has defeated them already, albeit in a shootout.
Chicago has had a record-setting start and they have a chance to set a few more with a good showing on Tuesday, as they have a chance at the record for consecutive games without a regulation loss as well as consecutive games with a point. The Blackhawks have done it in 15 and are looking for number 16 on Tuesday.
The team has a chance to set the record by the Anaheim Ducks, who went 12-0-4 before winning the Stanley Cup in 2007. The Blackhawks are coming into the game after a 3-2 win against the Kings on Sunday, holding on for the victory after scoring the first three goals. The team tied the 1984 Edmonton Oilers for the second-longest points streak to open a season.
"What's important to us is getting home-ice advantage, making the playoffs," said captain Jonathan Toews, who has three goals and five assists in the last six contests. "Those are our goals. Once you get there, the real season starts. When you get to that point, no one really cares or remembers those streaks at the start of the season."
The Blackhawks opened a seven-game home stretch last Tuesday against the Ducks, falling 3-2 in a shootout, but since then Chicago and goalie Ray Emery have been white hot, defeating San Jose and Los Angeles while stopping 52 of the 55 shots he faced.
Emery has been one of the top players for Chicago and he has a tough challenge in a Vancouver team he has not faced since 2007. The Blackhawks have gotten strong play from Emery since starter Corey Crawford went down with an injury after going 7-0-3 with a 1.65 GAA.
The Canucks started off the season slow, but have come on of late, pulling to 8-3-3 on the season. The team stands in the way of history for the Blackhawks and could be the first to give them a regulation defeat.
"They are the unbeaten team in regular time, they are the benchmark right now," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "We're going to focus on that."
The Blackhawks and Canucks have a tense playoff history, as Chicago eliminated Vancouver from the postseason in 2009 and 2010. The Canucks gained some revenge after doing it in 2011 and on Tuesday there will be a chance Roberto Luongo will be in net again, as he was for Vancouver's 2-1 shootout victory over the Blackhawks earlier in the month.
"Just throw some more, whatever, incentive into the game," Chicago forward Patrick Sharp told the NHL's official website. "It seems like it's something new every time we play those guys."
Luongo was on a four-game win streak before losing in a 4-3 shootout against St. Louis on Sunday and has gone 4-0-3 with a 1.63 GAA this season. Chicago has been excellent on the power play this season and has scored at least one in every home game. The team ranks first in goals against and second in goals per game with 3.3 on the year. The Blackhawks are also ranked third in penalty-kill percentage.
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