SUNRISE, Fla. – Get brunch ready.
In the first game of a weekend back-to-back to kick off February, the Florida Panthers (30-19-3) will take on the Chicago Blackhawks (16-30-5) at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
“I feel like we’re pretty good in the back-to-backs,” said Anton Lundell after Friday's practice at Baptist Health IcePlex. “We also love playing hockey, so it's pretty easy to just wake up, it's game day, and then go out there do your best.”
Looking to split the season series, the Panthers fell 3-1 to the Blackhawks in the Windy City on Nov. 21.
In the loss, Florida outshot Chicago 33-20, with the lone goal coming from Sam Reinhart.
“They're still so dangerous around the net, so it's going to be a hard gap game for us,” said head coach Paul Maurice on the Blackhawks. “That's our challenge in that, is to make sure we just don't give them any room to play.”
Coming off a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, the Panthers sit atop the Atlantic Division with 63 points, just ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs (62 points).
Becoming the 402nd player in NHL history to hit 1,000 career games, Dmrity Kulikov recorded an assist on Sam Bennett’s first-period goal against the Kings. Even though they tacked on two more, that proved to be the only goal they needed as Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 29 shots he faced.
Scoring for the third time in five games, Bennett registered a season-high 8 shots in the win and has logged 25 shots of the last five games.
Centering Matthew Tkachuk and Mackie Samoskevich, the line has had no shortage of good looks.
Netting a goal of his own Wednesday, Tkachuk also had two helpers, while Samoskevich tallied six shots.
“There's something there,” said Maurice on the line. “I'm not in a hurry to move that one, we'll let that one run a while. We almost need to let it run through some rough spots to see what the rough spots are, but there's something there.”
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the newly minted 25-9-19 line boasts an impressive 58.82% offensive advantage, 65.52% scoring chance advantage and has outshot opponents 20-8 at 5-on-5.
“I’m excited to see this one,” said Maurice.
After posting his second shutout of the season, Bobrovsky will man the net against Chicago.
A team on the rebuild, but with no shortage of talented players, the Blackhawks fly into Florida sitting at eighth in the Central Division.
“Every team is so good in this this league, so you can't underestimate any team,” said Lundell ahead of Saturday’s tilt. It's a good challenge for us.”
Owning a 2-5-3 record in their last 10 games, the Blackhawks most recently lost a close 3-2 game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Scoring in the loss, Connor Bedard netted his 15th goal of the season, adding to his team-leading 45 points on the season.
On the backend, despite missing 17 games, Seth Jones leads all Blackhawks blueliners in goals (5), assists (19), points (24), and is averaging a team-high 24:42 minutes of ice time per contest.
Maning the crease, Petr Mrazek will get the start for Chicago.
The Blackhawks netminder made 32 saves against Florida in their previous meeting this season.
THEY SAID IT
“His improvement has been quite drastic this year.” – Paul Maurice on Mackie Samoskevich’s growth
“It's going to be awesome having the whole country following you. It's a privilege to be able to wear the colors of your country and be able to represent your country. – Anton Lundell on playing for Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers lead the NHL in hits with 1,467
- Niko Mikkola leads the Panthers with 67 blocked shots
- Carter Verhaeghe has posted a career-high 69 hits so far this season
- Sam Reinhart is one goal away from his fourth straight 30+ goal season
- The Panthers have a .643 winning percentage in one goal games
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Jan. 31: D Adam Boqvist claimed on waivers by New York Islanders
- Jan. 26: D Tobias Bjornfot loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
- Jan. 6: D Tobias Bjornfot recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: ABC, ESPN+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Tickets:Click Here
