Time: 7:00 PM EDT Venue: United Center, Chicago, Ill., 60612 / The Chicago Blackhawks will try to notch their first victory of the season when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday evening. Chicago, which opened the season with increased expectations, has dropped back-to-back one-goal decisions against the Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks. The Blackhawks have scored seven goals in their first two games but have given up nine. It's not surprising that the Blackhawks want to focus on better defense as they welcome the Jets (3-2-0)." Obviously, there's things in our team game that we can do better," Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith told reporters. "(We've) played hard, but we need to be a little bit smarter with the puck and without the puck. It's that old thing: Work hard but work smart. It's something that we're just going to have to try to do better going forward." The Jets come in hot with wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild in their last two games. They have scored four-plus goals in all but one of their first five contests. Winnipeg is led by dominant 21-year-old forward Patrik Laine, who has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his first five games. Laine already has three 30-goal seasons under his belt and has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 14 career games against Chicago. Even if the Blackhawks slow down Laine, they still have to worry about his Winnipeg linemates. That includes dynamic center Mark Scheifele, who has one goal and seven assists in five games this season, and captain Blake Wheeler, who is tied with Laine for the team lead with three goals to go along with two assists in five games. Jets coach Paul Maurice heaped praise upon Scheifele after his most recent game, a two-assist performance in Thursday's 5-2 victory over the Wild." There's a big change, there's a big improvement in leadership on the ice in how hard he's playing right now," Maurice said in comments published by the Winnipeg Sun." Mark's play has just been incredible. I haven't talked about him much -- I've tried to -- because I want people to appreciate what he's doing along the walls, the battles he's been winning." Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with four points (one goal, three assists) in his first two games. Andrew Shaw, who leads the team with a pair of goals, has provided a spark on both offense and defense in his return to the organization. Shaw is more focused on Chicago's team success during a lengthy homestand early in the season." We've got six more at home here before we hit the road," Shaw said to reporters. "We've got to capitalize. Learn from our mistakes (in a 5-4 loss against the Sharks on Thursday). We did a lot of great things, but a lot of mistakes as well that can be fixed. We're going to focus on that." The Blackhawks will start either Corey Crawford or Robin Lehner between the pipes. Crawford is 0-2-0 with a 4.63 goals-against average in his first two games, while Lehner has yet to make his team debut in his first season with Chicago. The Jets likely will turn to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who is 2-1-0 with a 2.68 GAA in three games. The 26-year-old has performed well against the Blackhawks during his career, posting an 8-4-0 record and 2.34 GAA in 12 starts.-- Field Level Media
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