Matchday 20: Florida Panthers vs. Chicago Blackhawks

The Florida Panthers (12-6-1) visit the Chicago Blackhawks (6-12-1) tonight at United Center to conclude a short two-game road trip.

Los Gatos had a pretty solid road game Tuesday night with a 6-3 loss to the league-leading Winnipeg Jets, but were sunk by Mark Scheifele’s ninth career hat trick. After trailing 3-0, the Cats got goals from AJ Greer, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk to get within one with 3:22 to go before Morgan Barron put a pair of shorties into Florida’s empty net to complete the scoring. Reinhart’s 14 goals rank him second in the NHL, tied with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, one behind the currently injured Alex Ovechkin.

With the Panthers falling short at the Canada Life Centre, the Blackhawks surrendered two third-period goals to the Anaheim Ducks, turning a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 loss. Jason Dickinson scored each of Chicago’s goals, with top scorer Connor Bedard (15 points) getting the first assist on both occasions. Arvid Soderblom has started the last two, so veteran Petr Mrazek could be between the pipes as the Blackhawks look to snap a three-game losing streak.

• WHEN: 8:30 PM ET
• WHERE: United Center – Chicago, IL
• ON THE TUBE: ESPN+, HULU
• ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (keys)
• SOCIAL: #TimeToHunt, #Blackhawks, #FLAvsCHI, @LitterBoxCatsLBC Facebook
• HOSTILE INTEL: Second city hockey
• FLA IN SEASONAL SERIES: Game 1 of 2
• LAST MEETING: @FLA 4, CHI 3 (summary) – 11/12/2023
• NEXT MEETING: February 1, 2025
• PLANNED STARTERS: Florida: Knight (3-2-0 .897 / 2.85 0SO) Chicago: Mrazek (5-8-0 .906 / 2.79 0SO)
• PLAYER STATISTICS: Florida/Chicago

Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Odds)

• Utah (7-8-3 17P) at BOSTON (8-9-3 19P) 7 p.m.
• Vegas (11-5-2 24P) at OTTAWA (8-9-1 17P) 7 p.m.
• New York Islanders (7-7-5 19P) at DETROIT (7-9-2 16P) 7 p.m.
• TAMPA BAY (10-6-1 21P) at Columbus (7-9-2 16P) 7 p.m.

Stationary: TOR (26P), BUF (19P), MON (16P)