The record-setting winning streak is over but the Blackhawks get a chance to start a new one against the Panthers in Florida in Friday night.
The Hawks turned in a lackluster performance in all phases of the game last night against Tampa and despite a superhuman performance by Corey Crawford, the Hawks’ 12-game winning streak came to an end in a 2-1 loss. Backup goalie Scott Darling is expected to get the start tonight against the Panthers. Forward Jiri Sekac, acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday for forward Ryan Garbutt, is expected to make his Chicago debut. Forward Richard Panik overslept Thursday and missed the morning skate, then coach Joel Quenneville made him a healthy scratch against Tampa Bay.
The Blackhawks lead the Central Division by three points over the Dallas Stars, who led by 13 points before Chicago started its amazing run against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 29.
Prior to last night, the Blackhawks were firing on all cylinders. They have been scoring goals and keeping the puck out of their own net during their franchise-record 12-game winning streak. While the streak is now over, it afforded the Hawks the ability to rocket to the top of the Western Conference and will hopefully act as springboard to a high seed for the postseason.
During the streak the Hawks outscored their opponents, 47-22, and tallying that first goal has been key to their success as well. They scored the opening goal in 12 of the 13 games during the streak and they’re 29-4-2 on the year when getting the first goal.
The Hawks will need a short memory and a lot more jump if they expect to beat the first-place Panthers on their home ice Friday.
Anticipated Lines:
Shaw-Toews-Hossa
Panarin-Anisimov-Kane
Desjardins-Danault-Teravainen
Mashinter-Rasmussen-Sekac
Defensive Pairings
Hjalmarsson-Keith
van Riemsdyk-Seabrook
Scuderi-Rozsival
Opponent Breakdown
Panthers | Record: 25-15-5 | 1st in Atlantic Division | Goal differential: +12
The Panthers and Blackhawks met on Oct. 22 in Chicago with the Panthers suffering a 3-2 loss. Patrick Kane had the game-winning goal and Jaromir Jagr and Vincent Trocheck scored for the Panthers. The Panthers have not played since Monday night’s game against Edmonton and are hopeful they’ll be able to take advantage of a Blackhawks team that is on the second game of a back-to-back after a tough loss in Tampa last night.
After missing the past four games with an upper-body injury, defenseman Aaron Ekblad is expected to make his return to Florida’s lineup tonight. The Panthers went 0-3-1 without Ekblad as the team struggled to produce on offense, scoring just five goals in their past four games. Ekblad, the league’s reigning rookie of the year, has tallied nine goals and 10 assists in 42 games this season. Erik Gudbranson is also expected to make his return after being sidelined with a back injury.
Roberto Luongo will be in net tonight and he continue to be one of the Panthers most lethal weapons as well as one of the best goalies in the league this year.
Anticipated Lines:
Huberdeau-Barkov-Jagr
Jokinen-Trocheck-Smith
Howden-Bjugstad-Shaw
Howden-MacKenzie-Knight
Defensive Pairings:
Campbell-Ekblad
Kulikov-Gudbranson
Kampfer-Petrovic
Injuries
Blackhawks: Marcus Kruger
Panthers: None
How to watch
When: 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.
TV: CSN Chicago