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Chicago and San Jose are supposed to be two of the best teams in the NHL but both are looking to shake slumps heading into Friday night’s game, which could be a preview of the Western Conference Finals. The Sharks are slight NHL hockey bets favorites tonight on WagerWeb.com.

The Blackhawks fell 5-2 to Colorado on Tuesday for their eighth road loss in a row and sixth straight defeat overall. Chicago (29-18-7), which hasn’t won away from home since Dec. 14, has fallen seven points behind Detroit in the Central Division and into sixth place in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks have been outscored 27-12 during their six-game slide. They have five games and nine days remaining on a trip that was necessitated in part by Disney on Ice occupying the United Center.

In the past six games, Chicago has scored more than two goals just once and has gone an ice-cold 1-for-15 on the power play.

San Jose (29-16-6) has given up nine goals in the last two games, both losses, after allowing a total of two in winning its previous three.

In his ongoing effort to stabilize the Blackhawks’ goaltending, coach Joel Quenneville chose Corey Crawford to start tonight. Crawford watched from the bench as Ray Emery played the last two games, but will man the crease as he looks to snap the Hawks’ six-game losing streak and a personal four-game skid.

“He [Crawford] played great in here last game,” Quenneville said of a 1-0 loss to the Sharks in November. “I thought he had a real strong game. Ray was in there the last two games and we’re going to need both guys and so he gets back in the net.”

Chicago has struggled with its goaltending, giving up a surprising 2.96 goals per game, but even that mark has been made to look impressive by its play lately. In the first four games of the Blackhawks’ current road trip they have given up 19 goals, an average of 4.75 per game.

Chicago has won two of its first three games against San Jose this season, most recently defeating the Sharks 4-3 at the United Center on Jan. 15.

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