The Blackhawks are back in action in a Sunday matinee with the Florida Panthers after their shootout loss to the Stars on Friday night. Today’s contest with the Panthers will be the first of two meetings this season, and the Blackhawks will have their work cut out for them this afternoon. Florida comes into town winners of eight of their last ten games, including a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night. Florida forward Mason Marchment is red-hot coming into this one with six goals and 11 points in his last five games.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 2:00 p.m. CT
TV: NBCSCH, ESPN+ (out-of-market)
Radio: WGN 720 AM, TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
Expected Lineups
Blackhawks (18-25-8)
Hagel – Strome – Kane
DeBrincat – Dach – Entwistle
Kubalík – Borgström – Lafferty
Reichel – Carpenter – Kurashev
de Haan – S. Jones
C. Jones – Murphy
McCabe – Regula
Fleury
Panthers (34-10-5)
Verhaeghe – Barkov – Duclair
Huberdeau – Bennett – Hornqvist
Marchment – Lundell – Reinhart
Lomberg – Luostarinen – Acciar
Weegar – Ekblad
Forsling – Gudas
Carlsson – Montour
Bobrovsky
Injury Report
Blackhawks:
Tyler Johnson (Day-to-Day – Neck Surgery)
Kevin Lankinen (Day-to-Day – Hand)
Jonathan Toews (IR – Concussion Protocol)
Riley Stillman (IR – Upper Body)
Reese Johnson (IR – Broken Clavicle)
Jujhar Khaira (LTIR – Back Spasms)
Panthers:
Joe Thorton (IR – Undisclosed)
Maxim Mamin (IR – Undisclosed)
Markus Nutivaara (IR – Undisclosed)
What To Watch For
• In Friday’s shootout loss to Dallas, Marc-André Fleury stopped all 29 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, losing on in the sixth round of the shootout. Fleury has made 17 starts since the calendar flipped to 2022, in which time he owns a .912 save percentage and a 7-7-3 record. This season, the former Vezina Trophy winner has logged four shutouts for the Blackhawks.
• The Blackhawks own the league’s 30th-ranked offense with an average of 2.37 goals per contest and have lost 11 of their last 13 games while scoring two-or-fewer goals in seven of those games, including a 1-0 shootout loss against the Stars in their latest outing on Friday.
• The Panthers are the only team in the league scoring an average of more than four goals per game. Florida’s lineup features a league-best nine players with at least 10 goals this season, with Aleksander Barkov (22), Sam Bennett (21), and Anthony Duclair (20) all recording more than 20 thus far.
Get Caught Up
Figuring Out the Future, 2,034,072 Minutes, Golden Finns, and Other Blackhawks Bulletshttps://t.co/YV9ed7q5Qk
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) February 20, 2022
There’s a log jam of guys that have the potential to play a role here moving forward on a rebuilding team, so what’s the hold-up? #Blackhawks https://t.co/WQkG3VpU1x
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) February 19, 2022
I guess this headline isn't accurate anymore. https://t.co/DVja7VVPfk
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 20, 2022
Five Things on the #Blackhawks:
– Kirby Dach to wing?
– Kyle Davidson being the anti-Stan Bowman
– Dominik Kubalik's struggles
– Alex DeBrincat's wicked shot
– Some rare airhttps://t.co/Iku7q3Awrg— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) February 20, 2022