Panthers visit Blackhawks as both teams struggle early in NHL season
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The Florida Panthers (5-4-2) face the Chicago Blackhawks (3-7-0) at United Center on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams are below .500 and missing key players, so the points matter early.
Background
The Florida Panthers are an NHL team in the Atlantic Division, sitting 5-4-2 with 12 points and sixth in the division in 2026-27. The Chicago Blackhawks are a Central Division team at 3-7-0 with 6 points, tied with the Los Angeles Kings for second-fewest points in the league. Florida has lost back-to-back games to Ottawa (5-1) and Pittsburgh (4-0), scoring only one goal in the first two games of a four-game road trip, while Chicago has slipped to 2-3-0 on its current homestand. Both sides are dealing with injuries: Florida is without Aleksander Barkov (lower body), Brad Marchand (leg), Jacob Markstrom (upper body) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), with Gustav Forsling day to day, and Chicago is without Ryan Ellis (out for the season, back) and Bowen Byram (day to day, upper body).
How it unfolded
- Oct 21, 2026Ottawa beat Florida 5-1; Brady Tkachuk scored in his return to Ottawa to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead.
- Oct 22, 2026Pittsburgh beat Florida 4-0, though the Panthers led shots on goal 26-21.
- Oct 23, 2026Montreal beat Chicago 4-1 at United Center; Connor Bedard gave the Hawks an early 1-0 lead before Montreal scored four unanswered goals, Chicago's seventh defeat in ten games.
- Oct 25, 2026Florida (5-4-2, 12 points) visits Chicago (3-7-0, 6 points) at United Center, puck drop 3:00 PM EDT / 2:00 PM CDT, the first of two meetings this season.
- Nov 4, 2026The second and final Panthers-Blackhawks meeting of the regular season, at Amerant Bank Arena in Florida.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Inside The Rink writes that Florida needs key points against a struggling Blackhawks team as it sits sixth in the Atlantic Division, with injuries to Barkov and Marchand hindering the offense.
- Caution
- Chicago Hockey Now says the Blackhawks desperately need two points to calm the waters, but Florida is still an experienced, physical bunch they cannot take lightly.
- Party
- Second City Hockey argues the Blackhawks should try to take advantage of the disarray the Panthers find themselves in recently.
- Bulls
- SportsGambler notes the Panthers have claimed 7 wins in 10 on the head-to-head.