Panthers Pregamer 3.25.21 at CHI

MARCH 25, 2021 at CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

United Center | 8 P.M. ET
Television: Fox Sports Florida

Radio: 560 WQAM| 640 WMEN | 100.3 WCTH | 107.9/1370 WZTA | SIRIUSXM STREAMING CH. 932

PANTHERS vs. BLACKHAWKS

ALL-TIME vs. CHI: 17-19-3-7

ALL-TIME ROAD at CHI: 7-10-2-3

2020-21 vs. CHI: 4-1-0

TEAM STATS

	FLORIDA (20-8-4)	CHICAGO (15-13-5)
GOALS FOR	106 (T-5^thmost)	96 (T-13^thmost)
GOALS AGAINST	89 (T-12^thfewest)	106 (T-25^th fewest)
POWER PLAY %	26.0 (7^th)	28.2 (3^rd)
PENALTY KILL %	80.6 (13^th)	72.0 (28^th)
SHOTS FOR PER-GAME	34.7 (2^ndmost)	29.6 (T-19^th most)
SHOTS AGAINST PER-GAME	30.4 (18^thfewest)	33.9 (31^st fewest)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	52.3 (7^th)	46.9 (28^th)
FACEOFF WIN %	49.8 (19^th)	46.3 (T-27^th)

CATS STATS

The Panthers own a 4-1-0 record over five meetings with the Blackhawks this season, winning each of their first four games in the season series. FLA has outscored CHI 22-14 over the five games. Aleksander Barkov (3-6-9) leads the Panthers in points through the season series, while Carter Verhaeghe (4-3-7) leads the club with four goals vs. CHI and ranks tied for second in points with Jonathan Huberdeau (1-6-7). Sergei Bobrovsky has posted a 3-0-0 record against CHI this season.
The Panthers own a 10-4-1 road record and .700 road points percentage. Jonathan Huberdeau‘s 19 road points (5-14-19) lead the Cats, while Patric Hornqvist has scored a team-best seven road goals. As of March 23, the Panthers own a 32.0 road power play percentage (ranking third in the NHL) and an 86.5 road penalty kill percentage (ranking fourth in the NHL).
Over 12 of Florida’s games in the month of March, Aleksander Barkov (5-11-16) leads the Cats in points, while Aaron Ekblad (4-5-9) and MacKenzie Weegar (1-8-9) lead Florida’s defense. Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe (5-5-10) lead the club with five goals in March. Verhaeghe has notched a team-leading +8 rating through the 12 games. Over eight appearances in March, Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 6-2-0 mark and .921 save percentage during FLA penalty kills.
The Panthers own the NHL’s second-highest win percentage in games where they have surrendered the first goal (.600), while standing tied with TBL for the most wins in the NHL when scored against first (12). Florida has scored 39 goals in the third period this season, tied for the second-most in the NHL. Patric Hornqvist leads the Panthers with six goals scored in the third period.
Jonathan Huberdeau has recorded four points (1-3-4) over his last five games and 12 points (3-9-12) over his past 11 contests. Huberdeau ranks second on the team in points (36), while leading Florida in assists (25) and power-play points (16). The native of Saint-Jerome, Quebec leads FLA with 11 multi-point performances this season. On March 23 at CHI, Huberdeau skated in his 568th game of his NHL career, passing Olli Jokinen for the fifth-most games played in a Panthers uniform, fourth-most among skaters.
Aaron Ekblad has recorded four goals and nine points over his last 11 games (4-5-9). Florida’s franchise leader in goals (81) and power-play goals (29) scored by a defenseman, Ekblad stands tied for second in the NHL this season for goals by defensemen (10) and first in power-play goals by D-men (6).
Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 7-2-1 record over his last 10 appearances. Over that 10-game span, Bobrovsky has posted a .913 save percentage, the ninth-highest among goalies who have made at least 10 appearances since Feb. 25. Bobrovsky’s personal six-game win streak (March 4-16) tied for the second-longest in franchise history behind only Roberto Luongo (9 wins, 2015-16).
Noel Acciari enters tonight’s game with three assists over his last five games. Over his last five games, Acciari has produced a team-leading 54.8 faceoff win percentage, winning 77 percent of his faceoffs (17-22) on March 23 at CHI. The 29-year-old native of Johnston, R.I., leads all FLA forwards with 32 blocked shots. Over 12 games in March, Acciari has posted eight points (3-5-8).
MacKenzie Weegar has registered nine points (1-8-9) over his last nine games played. He recorded the team’s longest assist (six games) and point streaks (seven games) this season from March 7-20. His seven-game point streak tied Keith Yandle’s franchise record for longest point streak by a defenseman (2018-19). Weegar’s 18 even-strength points (2-16-18) ranks tied for second among NHL defensemen.
Patric Hornqvist has produced three points (1-2-3) over his last five games. Hornqvist leads FLA with seven power play goals and is tied for second on the Panthers in total goals (12). Hornqvist is seven points shy of matching his point total in 52 GP last season with PIT (17-15-32). The two-time Stanley Cup Champion ranks second on FLA in shots on goal (110) and leads all FLA forwards in hits (55).
Carter Verhaeghe has amassed seven points (4-3-7) over his past eight games. Verhaeghe owns a team-leading 12 even-strength goals, tied for fifth-most in the NHL. His +14 rating ranks first on Florida and is tied for sixth among NHL forwards. The 25-year-old’s 24 points this season have all been recorded at even strength and is tied with Aleksander Barkov for most on the club.
Alex Wennberg has notched four points (2-2-4) over his last five games and has recorded points in each of his last two games (1-1-2). Over his last five games, Wennberg has produced a 52.4 faceoff percentage and has totaled 16:06 SH-TOI. On March 23 at CHI, he recorded his seventh goal and second power-play goal of the season. Wennberg’s 16.7 shooting percentage leads FLA.
On March 23 at CHI, Radko Gudas logged a career-high 11 hits, the most recorded in a single game by a Panther since the NHL began tracking hits (2005-06). Gudas stands as FLA’s leader with 149 hits this season. Over his last 25 games, from Feb. 4 to March 23, Gudas logged an NHL-leading 127 hits. The native of Prague, Czech Republic, is one assist shy of his 100th NHL assist.
Reaching his 1,000th NHL game on March 7 at CAR, Keith Yandle owns the third-longest “Ironman” streak in NHL history (898) and is two games shy of becoming the third player in NHL history to reach 900 consecutive games played. As of March 22, Yandle’s 14 power-play points ranks tied for third among NHL defensemen. Yandle is eight points shy of becoming the 10th U.S.-born defenseman to reach 600 NHL points and 10 assists away from becoming the 8th U.S.-born defenseman to reach 500 NHL assists.
Florida is one of only two teams (COL) to have six players with at least 10 goals

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
– March 23: F Brett Connolly recalled from FLA Taxi Squad, F Eetu Luostarinen loaned to FLA Taxi Squad
– March 19: F Grigori Denisenko reassigned to Syracuse (AHL)

FLA-CHI CONNECTIONS

FLA forward Anthony Duclair played 23 games for CHI (2017-18), recording eight points (2-6-8).
FLA defenseman Gustav Forsling played all 122 games of his NHL career for CHI (2016-17 to 2018-19), notching 27 points (8-19-27).
FLA forward Vinnie Hinostroza is a native of Chicago, Ill., and was selected by CHI in the sixth round (169th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He played 106 games for CHI (2015-16 to 2017-18), posting 39 points (13-26-39).
FLA Head Coach Joel Quenneville served as Head Coach of CHI for 11 seasons (2008-09 to 2018-19), winning the Stanley Cup three times (2010, 2013 and 2015) and owning a 452-249-96 regular season coaching record.
FLA Assistant Coach Andrew Brunette played 78 games for CHI (2011-12), recording 27 points (12-15-27).
FLA Assistant Coach Ulf Samuelsson served as an Assistant Coach for CHI for two seasons (2017-18 to 2018-19).
FLA Senior Advisor to the General Manager Rick Dudley served five seasons (2004-05 to 2008-09) for CHI as Director of Player Personnel and Assistant General Manager .
FLA Director of Player Personnel Bryan McCabe played 79 games for CHI (1999-00), posting 25 points (6-19-25).
FLA Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton played 31 games for CHI (2002-03 to 2005-06), recording three points (2-1-3) and 70 PIM.
FLA Goaltending Coach Robb Tallas appeared in 12 games for CHI (2000-01), posting a 2-7-0 record.
FLA Director of Hockey Operations & Salary Cap Management Braden Birch was originally selected by CHI in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft.
CHI defenseman Connor Murphy’s father Gord Murphy played six seasons for FLA (1993-94 to 1998-99), posting 142 points (42-100-142) over 410 games and served as an assistant coach for four seasons (2010-11 to 2013-14).
CHI forward Brandon Pirri appeared in 122 games for FLA over three seasons (2013-14 to 2015-16), amassing 62 points (40-22-62).
CHI forward Lucas Wallmark played seven games for FLA (2019-20), posting two points (1-1-2).

CHASING FRANCHISE HISTORY

Franchise Goals	Franchise Assists	Franchise Points
1. Olli Jokinen (188)	1. Jonathan Huberdeau (314)	1. Jonathan Huberdeau (473)
2. Aleksander Barkov (168)	2. Aleksander Barkov (276)	2. Aleksander Barkov (444)
3. Jonathan Huberdeau (159)	3. Stephen Weiss (249)	3. Olli Jokinen (419)
4. Scott Mellanby (157)	4. Olli Jokinen (231)	4. Stephen Weiss (394)
5. Pavel Bure (152)	5. Robert Svehla (229)	5. Scott Mellanby (354)