The Florida Panthers have a lot of star power this season, from forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
But the Chicago Blackhawks, who are set to play host to the Panthers on Sunday afternoon, should not take Florida’s third line lightly.
That line is comprised of Mason Marchment, Sam Reinhart and rookie Anton Lundell. In Florida’s 6-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday, Marchment recorded his first career hat trick. Lundell added two assists, and Reinhart had one.
This season, that Marchment line is outscoring opponents 14-1 when playing five on five. That’s impressive stuff, and it’s one of the reasons why the Panthers lead the Atlantic Division.
“We’re on the same page most games,” Marchment said. “That’s something we’ve got to work on and just keep going.”
The Panthers are 3-1-0 on this road trip that ends in Chicago. Huberdeau on Friday reached 50 assists for a third season, the first time anyone has done that with the Panthers. Ekblad has 12 goals, which is third among NHL defensemen. Barkov has 42 points in 36 games, including a team-high 22 goals. And Bobrovsky is an astounding 25-4-3 with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have lost two straight games and 10 of their past 13 contests.
The Blackhawks are coming off a 1-0 shootout loss to the visiting Dallas Stars on Friday. Chicago’s Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves in what goes down as a shutout.
“It happens,” Fleury said of the tough-luck loss. “We didn’t play bad, right? All game, we hung in there. … Still disappointing to come out with a loss when we were so close to a win.”
Chicago is 8-12-4 at home this season, and, overall, the Blackhawks have a negative-47 goal differential.
Florida, which has a plus-60 goal differential, has been vulnerable on the road (11-7-5).
This is the first time these two teams are meeting this season.
In their two most recent matchups, the Panthers won both games last season, 5-4 in regulation and 4-3 on Sam Bennett’s overtime goal.
Patrick Kane leads Chicago in points (47) and assists (35). Alex DeBrincat leads Chicago in goals (29) and ranks second in points (41). DeBrincat is one goal away from his third season with at least 30 tallies.
The team’s star defenseman is Seth Jones, who has 31 points in 47 games while playing his first season for the Blackhawks.
Fleury, who is on the back end of a brilliant career at age 37, is 16-17-4 with a 2.80 GAA and a .912 save percentage. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, Fleury was incredible just last season with Vegas, going 26-10-0 with a 1.98 GAA.
Chicago would love to get some scoring from Henrik Borgstrom on Sunday. The former Panthers first-round pick has four goals and three assists this season.
The Blackhawks report five players on their injured list, including captain Jonathan Toews (concussion) and former Panthers defenseman Riley Stillman (shoulder).
Florida is relatively healthy, especially after forward Noel Acciari returned on Friday for his first game of the season.
Acciari, who had been out due to an apparent pectoral injury, is a gritty defender who scored 20 goals two seasons ago.
–Field Level Media