Panthers vs Blackhawks: Prediction, Team News and Canadian Odds

Result: Florida Panthers 3-2 Chicago Blackhawks

Florida had 33 shots to Chicago’s 21. Ryan Greene put Chicago ahead in the first, then Sandis Vilmanis and Matthew Tkachuk turned it round before the interval. Roman Kantserov levelled it in the second. Lars Eller won it in the third. Schmid needed 19 saves for the win. Spencer Knight stopped 30 of 33 and lost his second of the weekend, having also been beaten 4-1 by Montréal on Friday.

Florida 3-2, called to the goal. That was the scoreline we named, with the under from 6 up. Five goals, so both halves came in. The preview took Florida without much enthusiasm, with the captain, the leading forward and the goaltender all out, and that side still won. Chicago had a week of rest and both its listed players back, and managed 21 shots.

The preview as published before the game follows.

Florida has lost its captain, its leading forward and its goaltender, and has been beaten 4-0 and 5-1 in two days. Chicago is thirty-first. The call, who is fit and what the Canadian books make of it follow.

How to watch

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Panthers vs Blackhawks odds

The Canadian board for this one was still to come when the page was built. It will appear on the NHL odds page once the books open it.

Chicago is thirty-first and has two players back today

The Blackhawks are 3-6-0 with a goal difference of minus fifteen. They have not played since losing 4-0 at home to Dallas on 17 October, so this is a side coming off a week without a game.

Andrew Mangiapane and Bowen Byram both carry return dates of today. Those are the only two names on Chicago’s list, so the Blackhawks are close to fully fit for the first time in a fortnight.

Spencer Knight has seven starts at a .888 and Arvid Soderblom two at a .820. Chicago has scored sixteen in nine games, which is the lowest rate of any club in this weekend’s Tier-2 set.

How they compare

Florida finished twelve points clear of Chicago last season and scored almost half a goal a game more. Chicago had the better penalty kill by two and a half points, which on this season’s evidence has not carried over.

Florida has four out and has conceded nine in two games

The Panthers are 5-4-2 and have lost their last two, 4-0 in Pittsburgh and 1-5 in Ottawa. Before that they beat Seattle 8-3 and Columbus 7-3, so the range is wide.

Aleksander Barkov is out until 27 November and Brad Marchand until 21 November. Jacob Markstrom has joined them, on injured reserve until 4 November with an upper-body injury, and Jonah Gadjovich is gone until the end of that month.

That leaves Akira Schmid, who has a .867 across four starts, and Gustav Forsling is day to day on top. Florida’s goal difference is minus three on a winning record, which is what losing 4-0 and 5-1 inside two days does.

Florida has won four of the last five

Chicago leads the all-time series 32 wins to 28, but Florida has taken four of the last five, three of them at the United Center.

Those five produced 6, 5, 6, 4 and 7 goals, an average of 5.6. Only one of the five cleared a line of 6.5.

Team news

Who starts in goal is an open question. Florida Panthers has split between Markstrom (6 starts, .897) and Schmid (4, .867), and Chicago Blackhawks has split between Knight (7 starts, .888) and Soderblom (2, .820). Form and selection are different questions, and only one of them is settled before the morning skate.

We keep the rest of the league on our NHL injury report.

Players to watch

Akira Schmid, Florida. A .867 across four starts, and the man in possession with Markstrom on injured reserve until November.

Spencer Knight, Chicago. Seven starts at a .888 behind the lowest scoring rate in this set of games.

Sam Reinhart, Florida. With Barkov and Marchand both out until late November, the scoring runs through him.

Score prediction

Florida Panthers 3-2 Chicago Blackhawks. Florida is the better side even this depleted, and Chicago has scored sixteen goals in nine games.

Panthers vs Blackhawks prediction

Florida is the side we would take, without much enthusiasm. It has won four of the last five meetings and Chicago is thirty-first with the worse goal difference.

The case for Chicago is that it has had a week off, has both its listed players back, and faces a Florida side missing its captain, its leading forward and its goaltender. Our lean: Florida, and the under if the total sits at 6 or higher. Four of the last five meetings finished at six or fewer and neither club is scoring reliably.

The NHL power rankings puts both clubs against the other 30, and the rest of Sunday’s games sits on the NHL schedule.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Picks are opinion, not advice, and odds change constantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.