New York IslandersNew York Islanders vs. Chicago BlackhawksChicago Blackhawks Pick Center

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Time: 08:30 P.M. EST Venue: United Center   Patrick Kane's injury has given Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville an opportunity to assess his supporting cast, rewarding those who have stepped up and finding ways to send messages to those who haven't. It appears he's making more changes Tuesday night. Patrick Sharp will move to the top line and Kris Versteeg may be a healthy scratch as Chicago seeks a third straight victory while dealing the visiting New York Islanders a fourth consecutive defeat for the first time all season. Kane had 27 goals and 37 assists to tie for the NHL points lead when he broke his left clavicle in a shootout win against Florida on Feb. 24. The Blackhawks (41-21-6) have gone 5-1-1 without him, though, as Quenneville continues to experiment with his lines. Bryan Bickell was a healthy scratch for an overtime loss to the Rangers on March 8, and Sharp's lack of production recently saw him playing on the bottom two lines. However, Bickell scored to end a six-game stretch without a point, while Sharp snapped a 19-game streak without a goal by scoring twice in Saturday's 6-2 win at San Jose. Sharp's solid effort prompted Quenneville to replace Versteeg with Sharp on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, and that's how it stood at Monday's practice. Versteeg, who has one assist in seven games since Kane's injury, was skating without a line along with Joakim Nordstrom, who will be serving the second of a two-game suspension." At this point, guys are going to get what they deserve," Quenneville said. "Sharpie deserved a chance to move up and we're just looking for some more (from Versteeg). His last game wasn't very good." Chicago is third in the Central Division, five points behind co-leaders St. Louis and Nashville. The Blackhawks have one game in hand on the Blues and three on Nashville." It's good when you can find a way to win (close games)," Quenneville said. "So far it's gone OK, but we've still got some time here (without Kane)." Kane got a goal in the first meeting with the Islanders Dec. 13, but Kyle Okposo and Lubomir Visnovsky scored 51 seconds apart midway through the third period to give New York a 3-2 home win. Former Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy had an assist in that contest, but he won't get a chance to face his former teammates in Chicago. Leddy is expected to miss another week after suffering an upper-body injury in a win over Toronto on March 9. New York (43-24-4) hasn't won since, dropping three straight while scoring once in each contest. It sits five points behind and has played three more games than the Rangers, who lead the Metropolitan Division." We believe in these guys," coach Jack Capuano said. "For whatever reason, we are a little snake-bitten, and things aren't finding their way like they used to. It's good. It makes guys want to work a little bit harder." Quenneville believes the Islanders will bounce back soon." I knew it was just a matter of time until they pushed toward the top (of the league)," Quenneville said. "They've got a lot of really good young guys who do a lot of things for them." Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves in the first meeting and is 4-0-0 with a 2.04 goals-against average in his last five starts against the Blackhawks. Chicago counters with Corey Crawford, who is 5-0-1 with a 1.16 GAA in his last six.

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