The Florida Panthers, defending their Stanley Cup title, are looking to break their first mini-slump of the season when they face the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Florida has a 1-3-0 record in its last four games, including a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. After two consecutive losses, the Panthers thought they had turned things around with a strong 5-0 shutout win over the Jets on Saturday.
However, in the rematch, Winnipeg jumped to a 3-0 lead, and although the Panthers came close, they couldn’t finish the comeback.
“Every time we felt we were getting closer there, (Winnipeg) just put one in and got the momentum right back,” Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It was an even game for the most part. It’s tough to lose that one when you fight back to get close.”
Now, Florida faces the Blackhawks, who are struggling with just 13 points, the lowest in the league. Chicago is 1-5-0 in its last six games and has lost three in a row.
The Blackhawks led the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 through 45 minutes on Tuesday, but late-game issues resurfaced. The Ducks scored two quick goals in the third period to take the lead. The Blackhawks have been outscored 26-15 in the third periods this season.
“(It’s) definitely frustrating,” said Chicago forward Jason Dickinson, who scored twice against Anaheim. “We’ve been in a lot of these games. We could easily be coming out of a lot of these with wins. … At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out and do it.”
Aside from struggling in late periods, the Blackhawks are also having trouble scoring. They sit at the bottom of the league in goals (44) and goals per game (2.32). Connor Bedard leads the team with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists), but the young star has not scored a goal in his last 10 games.
Chicago was dealt another blow on Wednesday with the announcement that top defenseman Seth Jones will miss four weeks due to a right foot injury. Jones, who has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) this season, is a key part of the team’s defense and leads all Chicago skaters in ice time per game at 25:43.
On the other hand, Florida’s Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 29 points and 14 goals, and is tied for the team lead with 15 assists. He is fourth in the league in points. Reinhart is also on an 11-game point streak, with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) during this run.
A point on Thursday would tie him for the fifth-longest points streak in Panthers franchise history. Aleksander Barkov has also been productive, with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in his nine-game point streak.
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky followed up a shutout against the Jets with a rough game against Winnipeg, allowing four goals on 25 shots. His save percentage is .895, and his goals against average is 3.00 over his last six starts.
Florida might give Bobrovsky a break and start backup goalie Spencer Knight against Chicago.
The Blackhawks’ goalie situation is uncertain. Petr Mrazek was absent for Tuesday’s game against Anaheim due to a personal matter, and backup Arvid Soderblom started. If Mrazek is still unavailable, Soderblom is expected to start again on Thursday.
Florida has had a strong record against Chicago, winning 12 of the last 17 matchups dating back to the 2018-19 season.
