The Chicago Blackhawks return to the ice for a weekend back-to-back at the United Center following four days off, starting with Saturday’s night’s game against the Florida Panthers.
The defending Eastern Conference champions are off to a 5-3-1 start this season, despite several key injuries affecting the team. Top defenseman Aaron Ekblad remains on long-term injured reserve for the foreseeable and Brandon Montour, another top blue-liner, remains on plain ol’ injured reserve. Forward Sam Bennett was injured at the end of October and is going to miss game time as well with the dreaded “week-to-week” label.
Still, Florida continues chugging along and has won five of seven after suffering back-to-back regulation defeats to open the season. The Panthers’ most recent win was a smothering 2-0 defeat of the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky only needing to make 22 saves to pick up the shutout victory. With the blue line decimated by injury, several key forwards who were central to the team’s run to the Cup final last summer are at the forefront of the team’s early success this fall. Sam Reinhart leads the way with 11 points (8 G, 3 A), followed by eight points apiece from Aleksander Barkov (2 G, 6 A) and Matthew Tkachuk (1 G, 7 A). Newcomer Evan Rodrigues is also flourishing in his new digs at a point-per-game (2 G, 6 A) in the eight he’s played. On the blue line, old friend Gustav Forsling and offseason addition Oliver Ekman-Larsson make up the new top pair while Ekblad and Montour are out. In net, Sergei Bobrovsky appears to be getting the start based on Saturday’s morning skate, and his postseason prowess appears to be back early this season to the tune of a 4-3-1 record, .912 save percentage and 2.51 goals-against average.
It’s another strong opponent on the Blackhawks’ schedule this evening, although Chicago may have some reinforcements on the way with forward Taylor Hall and defenseman Alex Vlasic closing in on returns from their respective injuries. Hall did skate at Friday’s practice on the third line, while another development from the middle of the week continued with Lukas Reichel out on Andreas Athanasiou’s wing opposite Taylor Raddysh on the second line. Vlasic may not quite be back based on how things looked at Friday’s practice, with him on the “fourth” D pairing alongside Isaak Phillips.
If nothing else, it’s another chance for several young players to take a step forward. Keen eyes will certainly be fixed on Reichel in his new position, as the 2020 first-rounder is still without a point to open the season. Wouldn’t be a bad night to change that.
Let’s go Hawks.
How to watch
When: 7 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: NBC Sports Chicago, NHL Network
Webstream: ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720