TRENDING First CFP rankings NFL execs talk trades What MLB's labor proposal means Week 9 Waiver Wire NFL Power Rankings Story by Story by Blackhawks Vs Panthers: Projected Lineup, How To Watch, & More Ahead Of Game 16 Vinnie Parise · The Hockey News - Chicago Blackhawks Wed, November 4, 2026 at 6:56 PM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Chicago Blackhawks (4-9-1) are 0-5-1 on the road, so they begin this road swing looking for their first victory away from the United Center. So far this season, the Blackhawks have been one of the worst teams in the NHL, but they have full belief that they can come out of this funk.
It won't be easy on this trip, as they are playing three of the Eastern Conference's best teams. It starts with the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, followed by visits to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Florida Panthers (8-5-2) were just at the United Center last week. Florida mostly controlled play in that game, but the Blackhawks kept it close on the scoreboard. The game entered the 3rd period tied at 2, but Lars Eller's late goal gave the Panthers a regulation win.
Florida has a belief that they will lose if they don't play hard, regardless of who is on the other side. They are absolutely right, which is part of the reason they have been so successful during the 2020s. It's not easy to be the "Team of the Decade", and Florida may very well be that, depending on how it finishes for them.
This is one of the best defensive teams in the league in terms of personnel on the back end. Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, and Aaron Ekblad are all-star players because of what they do at such a high level, but Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov are also very good depth pieces for them who would have much larger roles on different teams.
Jacob Markstrom has been up and down over the last couple of years, but this team in front of him gives him a chance to win, which is improving his confidence.
At forward, they are without their captain and best player, Aleksander Barkov, due to injury, but he will be back this season. Without him, they still have plenty of other players who have been stars in the league for a long time.
Their top line, Sam Bennett centering the Tkachuk brothers, is no fun to play against. They are all high-end scorers who are mean and play on the edge. There is no post-whistle moment when they aren't mixing it up and looking for trouble.
Sam Reinhart is centering the second line, and he has incredible chemistry with Carter Verhaeghe, who has been a top goal scorer in the NHL. Their third line, centered by Anton Lundell, is definitely their checking line, but all three of these players can and will put the puck in the net. With the game being in Florida, Connor Bedard figures to see them a whole lot with the defensive pair of Aaron Ekblad and Gus Forsling out there.
When Barkov comes back, everyone shifts down a spot, which makes the team even deeper. The Blackhawks won't have to deal with him, but it's still incredibly hard to create a forecheck against them, and they can score as well as the best teams in the league.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks were very similar to the modern-day Panthers in the 2010s. Everyone on the team could score, and they defended extremely well in front of an above-average goaltender.
These days, not so much. The 2026-27 Blackhawks allow a lot of goals, mostly never control play, and can't score. It's been a struggle, but all they can do is keep working on their game as the schedule continues to come at them in waves.
With Patrick Kane out due to an upper-body injury, things had to be switched up again. Both Jordan Greenway and Teuvo Teravainen are in, while Andrew Mangiapane is out.
The Blackhawks are also going to allow Dillon Boucher to play. At 29 years old, he will make his NHL debut against the Panthers. Boucher is not going to help the Blackhawks' scoring woes, but he is going to bring some physicality and toughness to the group. Against the Panthers, that may be needed.
The top line is loaded with Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Bedard, and Roman Kantserov. This is a line that has the potential to do some damage.
On defense, there is still no Bowen Byram, who was placed on IR to make room for Boucher. Kevin Korchinski will remain the scratch, as Ethan Del Mastro will play on the third pair with Sam Rinzel. In goal, Spencer Knight will make his 2nd straight start, and 13th out of 16 games.
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. On television, it's a national broadcast on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max. The puck will drop shortly after 6:30 PM CT.
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