New-look Blackhawks' lines ready to clash with Panthers

Chicago Blackhawks (21-22-8, 50 pts) vs Florida Panthers (27-20-3, 57 pts)
6 pm CT – United Center
TV: CHSN (Ball/Pang)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight with another tough assignment. After taking three points in back-to-back games against the Metropolitan and Atlantic Division leaders, the two-time and defending Stanley Cup champions are next on the schedule.

The Florida Panthers have dealt with a ton of injuries this season and are five points out of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They recently got Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand back in the lineup, but they are still missing key contributors like Aleksander Barkov, Seth Jones, and Dmitri Kulikov. The fact that the Panthers and Blackhawks are the same distance out of a postseason berth at this point in the season is crazy.

Marchand was the hero in his return to the lineup, as he led the Panthers to a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, and recorded an assist. Florida is 2-3-1 in the second night of playing games on back-to-back days. The Blackhawks are 4-5-0 on Sundays.

New Lines

Head coach Jeff Blashill has been pretty patient with his lines this season. He tried some new combinations against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday but changed back to more familiar ones by the third period. He’s once again trying something different for tonight’s game.

The biggest move is splitting up Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis. Moore will get a shot on the top line with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. Lardis will play on a line with Ryan Greene and Frank Nazar, which could be a lot of fun.

Blashill did address splitting up Moore and Lardis and the great chemistry that they’ve developed together. He said that if Moore and Bedard don’t gel quickly, he may “flip it around.”

Home Ice Advantage

While the Blackhawks have been inconsistent on home ice this season, they have enjoyed quite a bit of success against the Panthers at the United Center. They have won three straight home games against Florida. They are 17-8-2 all time and are 5-2-1 in the Panthers’ last eight trips to the Windy City.

Captain Nick Foligno has goals in back-to-back games against the Panthers at the United Center. He has 10 goals and 24 points in 53 games against them. Burakovsky will look to stay hot against the champs with his new linemates. He has six goals and seven points in his last nine games, including a pair of three-point efforts. He has nine goals and 15 points in 22 career games.

Hello, Old Friend

Tonight’s goaltending match-up will feature the Panthers’ current backup goaltender against their former No. 2 netminder. Spencer Knight will face his former team for the second time. He allowed three goals and 37 shots on opening night, as he gave the Blackhawks a chance to win.

Knight has loved playing in front of the home fans this season. He’s picked up nine of his 15 wins at the United Center, while posting a 2.34 goals-against average (GAA), 915 save percentage (SV%), and two shutouts. His last start on home ice was a 32-save shutout of the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. That was his 11th home start this season with an SV% greater than .900, the fifth-most in the NHL.

On the other side of the ice, Daniil Tarasov is making his 15th start of the season. He’s played quite well, giving up more than three goals only three times this season. His only other start against the Blackhawks in his career came for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 23, 2002. He was pulled early in the second period after allowing four goals on 20 shots.

The only current Blackhawk who has scored on Tarasov is Teuvo Teravainen, who did so as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. Teravainen will miss his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury. He did take part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, but is not ready for game action yet.

Season Series

10/7 @ FLA, L 2-3
1/25 vs FLA

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (24)
A-Connor Bedard (28)
P-Bedard (48)
PPG-Bertuzzi (9)
GWG-Bedard/Bertuzzi (3)
SOG-Bedard (125)
PIM-Colton Dach (45)

Panthers Team Leaders

G-Sam Reinhart (25)
A-Reinhart (24)
P-Reinhart (49)
PPG-Reinhart (9)
GWG-Reinhart (5)
SOG-Sam Bennett (133)
PIM-AJ Greer (74)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.69 (26th)
GA/G-3.04 (15th)
PP%-21.0 (14th)
PK%-85.4 (1st)
SOG/G-25.0 (31st)
SA/G-29.7 (26th)
FO%-47.1 (29th)
PIM/G-10:10 (25th)

Panthers Team Stats

GF/G-2.98 (20th)
GA/G-3.26 (23rd)
PP%-18.7 (22nd)
PK%-81.9 (9th)
SOG/G-29.0 (9th)
SA/G-26.0 (6th)
FO%-47.2 (27th)
PIM/G-11:01 (29th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Oliver Moore-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Greene-Frank Nazar-Nick Lardis
Tyler Bertuzzi-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Donato-Nick Foligno-Landon Slaggert

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty, F-Colton Dach

Injured
F-Teuvo Teravainen (upper body)

Panthers Probable Lines

Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Brad Marchand
AJ Greer-Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe-Evan Rodrigues-Sam Reinhart
Sandis-Vilmanis-Luke Kunin-Mackie Samoskevich

Defensemen
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Nikkola-Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot-Jeff Petry

Scratched
F-Jesper Boqvust, D-Donovan Sebrango, F-Cole Schwindt

Injured
F-Aleksander Barkov (knee), F-Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), D-Seth Jones (upper body), D-Dmitry Kulikov (upper body), F-Tomas Nosek (knee)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (15-13-6, 2.54 GAA, .913 SV%, 3 SO) vs Daniil Tarasov (7-6-2, 2.63 GAA, .906 SV%, 0 SO)