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The Chicago Blackhawks (21-22-8) play their third game in four days when they take on the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers (27-20-3) at the United Center on Sunday.
It’s the second and final meeting between the two teams in the 2025-26 season, with the Panthers winning the first matchup 3-2 in the season opener at Amerant Bank Arena on Oct. 7. Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teravainen were the goal scorers in the game for Chicago. A.J. Greer, Carter Verhaeghe (PP), and Jasper Boqvist recorded the three goals for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of 19 shots to earn the win in net.
Last time out, the Blackhawks didn’t have the prettiest performance but extended their point streak to three games with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. Rookie Ryan Greene scored for Chicago, while Nikita Kucherov had the tally for Tampa Bay. Former Blackhawks sixth-round pick Dominic James netted the shootout winner in the bottom of the sixth round. Arvid Soderblom was spectacular and deserved a win for his effort, stopping 30 of 31 shots faced.
With 50 points through 51 games this season, the Blackhawks currently sit five points back of the second wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings (55 points), Seattle Kraken (53 points), and Nashville Predators (52 points) are the three teams ahead of them who are also sitting on the outside of the playoff picture.
The Panthers are playing in the back end of a back-to-back and are coming off a 4-3 overtime win on the road against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Brad Marchand scored twice, including the overtime winner, and is now tied for the team lead in goals this season. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett (PP) also scored for Florida. Bobrovsky stopped 18 of 21 shots faced for his 20th win of the year.
Florida has won five of their last seven games entering Sunday and currently sit five points back of the Boston Bruins for the final wildcard playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Washington Capitals with 57 points, the most of any teams currently not in a playoff position in the NHL.
Here’s everything else to note before the puck drops at 6:00 p.m. CT in Chicago.
Forward Lines
Oliver Moore — Connor Bedard – Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Greene — Frank Nazar — Nick Lardis
Tyler Bertuzzi — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Donato — Nick Foligno — Landon Slaggert
Defensive Pairings
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Scratched
F — Colton Dach, F — Sam Lafferty
Injured
F — Teuvo Teravainen (upper body)
***
The Blackhawks rolled out some new-look forward lines at the morning skate on Sunday.
Oliver Moore, who’s been centering the third or fourth line recently, was moved up to the top line with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. Moore figures to take the faceoffs for that trio, as Bedard still hasn’t taken a draw sine returning from his shoulder injury.
Ryan Greene and Nick Lardis are getting a look with Frank Nazar on the second line. Greene has scored a goal in three of the last seven games. Nazar returned from a jaw injury on Thursday in Carolina.
Tyler Bertuzzi is back skating with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev on the third line. Those three players received a handful of games together before Nazar made his return.
Ryan Donato and Landon Slaggert are skating with captain Nick Foligno on the fourth line. Colton Dach and Sam Lafferty are expected to be scratched for the second straight game.
Forward Lines
Carter Verhaeghe — Evan Rodrigues — Sam Reinhart
A.J. Greer — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Brad Marchand
Sandis Vilmanis — Luke Kunin — Mackie Samoskevich
Defensive Pairings
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot-Jeff Petry
Scratched
F — Jesper Boqvist, D — Donovan Sebrango, F — Cole Schwindt
Injured
F — Aleksander Barkov (knee), F — Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), D — Seth Jones (upper body), D — Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), F — Tomas Nosek (knee)
***
The Panthers did not hold a morning skate after traveling from Minnesota to Chicago late on Saturday night. The forward lines and defensive pairings listed above are from Saturday’s game against the Wild.
Spencer Knight (15-13-6, 2.54 GAA, .913 Sv%, 3 SO) vs. Daniil Tarasov (7-6-2, 2/63 GAA, .906 Sv%, 0 SO)
Knight will make his 35th start of the season in net for the Blackhawks. The 24-year-old stopped 28 of 31 shots to earn the win over the Carolina Hurricanes in his most recent start on Thursday. Knight allowed three goals on 34 shots faced in his first career appearance against his former team back in the season opener on Oct. 7.
Tarasov is expected to make his 16th start of the season in net for the Panthers. The 26-year-old netminder stopped 17 of 18 shots faced to record the win over Winnipeg in his last start on Thursday. Tarasov is 0-1-0 and gave up four goals on 20 shots in his lone career appearance against Chicago.
The Blackhawks are riding a three-game win streak against Florida at United Center and have earned points in six of their last eight home games against the Panthers (5-2-1).
10/07/25 — 3-2 L, Amerant Bank Arena
01/25/26 — United Center
Chicago Blackhawks:
Goals — Tyler Bertuzzi (24)
Assists — Connor Bedard (28)
Points — Connor Bedard (48)
GF/GP — 2.69 (26th)
GA/GP — 3.04 (15th)
PP% — 21% (14th)
PK% — 85.4% (1st)
FOW% — 47.1% (29th)
Florida Panthers:
Goals — Brad Marchand & Sam Reinhart (25)
Assists — Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, & Carter Verhaeghe (24)
Points — Brad Marchand & Sam Reinhart (49)
GF/GP — 2.98 (20th)
GA/GP — 3.26 (23rd)
PP% — 18.7% (22nd)
PK% — 81.9% (9th)
FOW% — 47.2% (27th)
Florida Panthers (27-20-3, 57 points) @ Chicago Blackhawks (21-22-8, 50 points)
6:00 p.m. CT — United Center
Head Coaches: Paul Maurice (FLA), Jeff Blashill (CHI)
TV/Stream: CHSN (Ball/Pang), NHLN, SN!, SCRIPPS
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)
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