NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry Game
Face-off: Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: N/A

If you’re wondering why the Chicago Blackhawks are a Wednesday night mainstay, look no further than the just-completed NHL trade deadline. The rich got richer as the defending champions added former Cup winner (with Chicago) and Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd (17 G, 8 A, 35 PTS), depth wingers Dale Weise (14 G, 12 A, 26 PTS) and Tomas Fleischmann (10 G, 10 A, 20 PTS), and, just for good measure, one-time star defenseman Christan Erhoff (2 G, 8 A, 10 PTS). The stats from this quartet won’t blow anyone away, but you just know that all four players will improve in the Windy City. The Blackhawks jersey is like a magic cape, and they’ll factor into another deep postseason run.

The Red Wings weren’t as active on the trade market, but they’re one of the few teams that answers Chicago’s skill with some of its own top-end talent. Detroit is 2-0 against the spread (and straight up) this season against Chicago, including a victory at the United Center. When playing in Detroit, the Red Wings are 4-1 in their last five games against Chicago. Still, the Blackhawks are hot overall, going 17-8 straight up in its last 25 games, though they’ve lost five of their last eight.

As we’ve mentioned before in this space, any assessment of Detroit must include veterans Pavel Datsyuk (13 G, 23 A, 36 PTS) and Henrik Zetterberg (12 G, 29 A, 41 PTS) plus star rookie Dylan Larkin (19 G, 20 A, 39 PTS), who has translated his basement-shooting skills to hockey’s big league. That trio will need to be at its best against Chicago, but the determining factor in this game’s outcome will likely be goaltender Jimmy Howard (2.78 GAA, .909 SV%), filling in for the injured—and one-time dark horse Vezina candidate—Petr Mrazek. Howard has rekindled some of his old magic at times, but 2015-16 hasn’t been his best season.

The Blackhawks are third in the league on the power play at 23.3%; obviously, the Red Wings would be well-advised to stay out of the box. Chicago can score, and in its last 10 games, only two have gone under. Leading the way, of course, is Patrick Kane (36 G, 49 A, 85 PTS), who has flourished on a line with Artem Anisimov (18 G, 16 A, 34 PTS), and Artemi Panarin (22 G, 35 A, 57 PTS). Are the Blackhawks due to snap out of a mini-slide? Expect this to be a close one, and deserving of Wednesday prime-time billing.