CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks were not happy with last week's 3-2 shootout loss on home ice against the Calgary Flames.
Eight days later, the Blackhawks will look for revenge against the Flames in a United Center rematch.
"We're going to have to be ready," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We took one out of there, and I'm sure they'll be champing at the bit to get those points back."
The Blackhawks (5-3-1) are playing with more confidence and better effectiveness than they had in the teams' first meeting on Oct. 24. Chicago has won back-to-back games, including a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night that marked the group's first shutout of the season.
Part of the reason for Chicago's recent success is improved special-teams play. The Blackhawks have scored a pair of power-play goals in each of their last two contests, and they went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill against the Kings for their first unblemished performance of the year.
Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews said he and his teammates needed to build upon their improved special-teams play. The Hawks are ranked last in the NHL with a 53.1 success rate (17-for-32) on the penalty kill despite playing better in their last contest.
"We want to keep that going for a while, get our (penalty kill) percentage back down where it needs to be," Toews said. "At the end of the day, statistics on the penalty kill will follow our effort. I've been saying this the last couple of games: Our five-on-five effort, when it's there, our special teams follow."
Calgary (4-5-1) already has proved its ability to win in front of a hostile Blackhawks crowd. Newcomer Kris Versteeg scored the tiebreaking goal in the seventh round of the shootout last week, which quickly silenced Chicago fans who have become accustomed to success.
The Flames have won three of their past four contests and are 2-1-1 on the road to start the season. On Tuesday, Calgary will kick off a four-game road trip that also includes visits to the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
"This is a huge road trip," Flames defenseman Mark Giordano said. "We had two big wins on the road earlier in the week. Hopefully, we can carry some of that into the next few games."
Calgary goaltender Brian Elliott started the first game against Chicago. He stopped 31 of 33 shots and denied seven shootout opportunities to earn his first victory of the season.
Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 29 of 31 shots in his first outing against the Flames. Coach Joel Quenneville indicated that Crawford would be in net again Tuesday.
Both teams have fared well in scoring to start the season. Chicago entered Monday ranked No. 5 in the league with 3.33 goals per game, and Calgary was ranked No. 8 with 3.00 goals per game.
Toews will try to score in back-to-back games after snapping an eight-game drought Sunday night.
"We're playing better there, and you know it's only improving," Toews said. "I think it's just about the chances. It's nice to feel comfortable shooting that puck finally, getting through traffic, seeing one go in. Hopefully we'll keep going and getting that confidence that comes with it."
