Blackhawks Game Day: 3 things to watch in season opener versus Panthers

Chicago Blackhawks (0-0-0) @ Florida Panthers (0-0-0)4
4 pm CT – Amerant Bank Arena
TV: ESPN (Wischesen/Weekes/Kaplan)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Roumeilotis)

The Chicago Blackhawks open the regular season today against the two-time and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. The reigning champs have had a busy week, with a crazy game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and getting their Stanley Cup rings last night. Don’t forget, they are raising another banner before today’s game, so there have been a lot of distractions before puck drop.

While the Panthers were essentially able to keep their team together over the summer, the injury bug has already made its presence felt early. Matthew Tkachuk will be out until at least December as he recovers from offseason surgery. Captain Aleksander Barkov suffered a knee injury in training camp that has him on the shelf for 7-9 months.

The Blackhawks enter the new season with a different vibe than a year ago. They were one of the oldest teams in the league entering last season, but a major facelift throughout the year has them as the fourth-youngest team right now. With a new coaching staff leading the charge, this group has a positive attitude heading into game one.

“From top to bottom, in our room, we have guys who want to apply themselves and be NHL players, goaltender Spencer Knight said. “Make an impact, work hard, and be effective. Frankly, I believe that if we bring a good attitude, support each other, and work hard, we’ll eventually get to where we want to be.”

Tonight is Jeff Blashill’s debut as Blackhawks head coach. It’s his first game as an NHL head coach since 2022. He said he needed all six preseason games to get back into the flow of being a head coach after spending the last three seasons as an assistant in Tampa Bay. He knows his young squad has a huge challenge ahead of them to start the season.

“I heard they had some pretty uneventful preseason games,” he said of the Panthers.” Right now, Florida is the model for the rest of the league in terms of the commitment they’ve had to winning as a group. We’re not trying to mimic their style. I’ve talked to our players about some things they do very well. Things like how hard they track and how committed they are to playing winning hockey. Raising that banner is not bad for anyone to see because that’s what we all aspire for.”

Alex Vlasic and Landon Slaggert will miss today’s game. Vlasic could return as soon as Thursday against the Boston Bruins. Slaggert might be back as early as Saturday’s home opener versus the Montreal Canadiens. Matt Grzelcyk and Ryan Greene will slide into their spots against the Panthers.

Hello, Old Friends

Tonight is the first game between these two teams since they made their big trade last March. The Blackhawks acquired Knight and a first-round pick for defenseman Seth Jones.

The Panthers took Knight with the 13th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in 80 games before being dealt to Chicago. General manager Kyle Davidson liked what he saw from the young netminder in his 15 games after the trade and signed him to a three-year contract extension over the summer.

“It’s funny playing against a team you were once on,” Knight said yesterday. “Thousands of players have done it before me, and there’ll be a thousand guys after me that do it. So, it’s part of being a pro. Some guys are fortunate to play for one team, but the reality is that you end up playing against a team you played for before. You have to take it in stride and appreciate what you were able to have here. I’m grateful to have been a part of two great organizations.”

Meanwhile, Jones’ tenure in Chicago never went as he had envisioned when he joined the organization in 2021. The team changed directions and went into full rebuild mode, which was not what he signed up for. He never won over the fan base as his big salary cap hit became a polarizing issue. He eventually forced his way off the team and landed in an ideal situation with the Panthers.

“Maybe I said some things that maybe came out wrong,” he told The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. “I never meant any disrespect to that organization or the players there. … We were trying our hardest every night. We were trying to win hockey games, and guys are laying their body on the line and doing everything for their careers.”

Without naming Jones specifically, Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno made multiple comments last year about distractions in the room. It will be interesting to see if there will be any carryover onto the ice. Jones said the comments took him aback, but the two remain friends.

Hold Down the Fort

The start of today’s game will be important. As mentioned earlier, the Panthers have plenty of reasons to lose focus on the actual game: the Lightning fiasco, last night’s ring celebration, and today’s banner raising. However, the crowd at the Amerant Bank Arena will be rabid at puck drop and should give the Panthers a big push.

If the Blackhawks can survive the first 10 minutes of the game without falling behind, they can stay in this game. If they allow a goal or two early, the building will be up for grabs, and it won't be easy to mount a comeback.

The last time the Blackhawks were in Florida, last February, Slaggert scored seven seconds into the game. However, the Panthers dominated the next 59:53, winning 5-1. Another early goal would be fantastic, but the young Blackhawks will need to be ready to play three full periods.

Special Teams Must Show Up

The Panthers should and likely will dictate 5-on-5 play tonight. That is why the Blackhawks need to capitalize on their opportunities when they get a chance on the power play. The Panthers were the most-penalized team in the National Hockey League last season, so they will get some looks on the man advantage.

The Blackhawks went 2-for-20 on the power play during the regular season. Yes, those numbers are skewed, as some of those opportunities were with players currently in the American Hockey League. However, in the two preseason games with mostly the NHL roster playing, they went 0-for-9.

These young Blackhawks aren’t good enough yet to hang with the upper-echelon teams at 5-on-5. That is something they will hopefully improve on as the season progresses. Winning the special teams battle is how this team will have success, especially early in the year.

Season Series

10/7 @ FLA
1/26 vs FLA

Blackhawks Team Leaders (2024-25)

G-Ryan Donato (31)
A-Connor Bedard (44)
P-Bedard (67)
PPG-Bedard (11)
GWG-Bedard (5)
SOG-Bedard (195)
PIM-Pat Maroon (97)

Panthers Team Leaders (2024-25)

G-Sam Rienhart (39)
A-Aleksander Barkov (51)
P-Reinhart (81)
PPG-Reinhart (13)
GWG-Carter Verhaeghe/Mackie Samoskevich (5)
SOG-Verhaeghe/Sam Bennett (241)
PIM-A.J. Greer (130)

Blackhawks Team Stats (2024-25)

GF/G-2.73 (26th)
GA/G-3.56 (31st)
PP%-24.9 (7th)
PK%-79.3 (14th)
SOG/G-24.5 (32nd)
SA/G-31.0 (30th)
FO%-44.8 (31st)
PIM/G-8:35 (21st)

Panthers Team Stats (2024-25)

GF/G-3.00 (15th)
GA/G-2.72 (7th)
PP%-23.5 (13th)
PK%-80.7(10th)
SOG/G-31.6 (3rd)
SA/G-28.7 (20th)
FO%-49.4 (20th)
PIM/G-10:24 (32nd)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Andre Burakovsky-Connor Bedard-Ryan Donato
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Teuvo Teravainen
Ilya Mikheyev-Jason Dickinson-Colton Dach
Nick Foligno-Ryan Greene-Sam Lafferty

Defensemen
Matt Grzelcyk-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Ethan Del Mastro-Connor Murphy

Scratched
F-Lukas Reichel, D-Louis Crevier

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (knee), F-Joey Anderson (lower body), F-Landon Slaggert (lower body), D-Alex Vlasic (lower body)

Panthers Probable Lines

Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich-Evan Rodrigues-Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer-Luke Kunin-Jonah Gadjovich

Defensemen
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov-Jeff Petry

Scratched
D-Uvis Balinskis, F-Cole Schwindt

Injured
F-Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), F-Tomas Nosek (knee), F-Aleksander Barkov (knee)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (17-16-3, .901 SV%, 2.72 GAA, 2 SO) vs Sergei Bobrovsky (33-19-2, 905 SV%, 2.44 GAA, 5 SO)
(2024-25 regular season stats)