Chicago will be without injured Taylor Hall, Andreas Athanasiou and Jarred Tinordi as it faces off against the 8-4-1 Panthers in Sunrise, Florida in matinee on Sunday.
Coming off a 5-3 victory over the Lightning in Tampa on Thursday, Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when they face off against Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
It figures to be a challenge, even if Bedard and Chicago's top forward line are on a roll.
Connor Bedard (center) and linemate Philipp Kurashev get congrats after combining on goal at Tampa Bay on Thursday.First: Forwards Taylor Hall and Andreas Athanasiou are out with undetermined injuries. (Hall's would seem to be lower-body.) Rugged defenseman Jarred Tinordi (oblique) has been placed on injured reserve and D-man Isaak Phillips has been recalled from AHL Rockford.
See details with expected lineup in our story on the site, at https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/news/blackhawks-taylor-hall-sidelined-again-andreas-athanasiou-jarred-tinordi-also-out-at-florida
Second: The combined record of the Blackhawks opponents, as Chicago heads into it's 13th game of the season, is 85-44-15.
Following Saturday night's play, all of the Blackhawks' first 10 adversaries so far in 2023-24 had winning marks. That includes the Panthers, at 8-4-1.
BTW: Blackhawks moms will be in the stands for this one at Amerant Bank Arena, as they were in Amalie Arena in Tampa on Thursday.
Rematch in Sunshine State with Bedard leading rookie scorers and linemates clicking
The Blackhawks beat Florida 5-2 last Saturday at the United Center for their only home win so far in four tries. Chicago's top line, with the 18-year-old Bedard centering Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev, clicked for three goals in that one.
Bedard is coming off his first multi-point game in the NHL, a dominant two-goal, two assist effort in a 5-3 win over the Lightning in Tampa on Thursday. Foligno had three assists and Kurashev posted two.
Bedard, the NHL's top draft pick of 2023, enters Sunday as the league's rookie leader in goals (seven), points (11) and shots on goal (39) despite a hat trick by Anaheim rookie Leo Carlsson on Friday. Carlsson was taken second overall by the Ducks last June.
Bedard has five goals and two assists in his last five games. Kurashev has a goal (empty-netter) and four assists in his last three contests. The 36-year-old Foligno, playing with jump in his 17 NHL season, has a goal and three assists in his last three.
Top D-Man Seth Jones busier than ever
After Tinordi was hurt at Tampa, top defenseman Seth Jones stepped up and skated over 32 minutes as Chicago finished the game with five blueliners. That group includes three rookies — Alex Vlasic, Kevin Korchinski and Wyatt Kaiser.
With Phillips recalled and Nikita Zaitsev as an option, Jones shouldn't be quite as taxed on Sunday. He leads Chicago with an average of 25:57 of ice time per game. See Richardson on that in the video.