Thanks to the schedule makers, the Chicago Blackhawks’ most lopsided loss of the early season has lingered through the work week.
Saturday’s visit from the Florida Panthers comes five days after Monday’s 8-1 drubbing at Arizona that saw the Coyotes storm to eight unanswered goals after Chicago rookie Connor Bedard scored 28 seconds into the game.
“In a weird way, I’m glad we get to chew on this one,” Chicago forward Nick Foligno said. “This one hurts. This one (stinks). I hate losing, especially like that. I hope every guy takes it a little personally in here and understands there’s a standard we’re trying to get to and that was nowhere close.”
The Blackhawks have lost six of their first nine games despite treading water on the road, where the team is 3-4; they’ve begun the season 0-2 at home. Saturday marks the first leg of a home back-to-back that continues Sunday against New Jersey before the Blackhawks return to the road to play three of their next four games.
As with Foligno, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson hopes the team takes the extra time to shore up mistakes in practice and dwell on its path to growth.
One game before the rout in Arizona, Chicago rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory at Vegas, handing the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights their first loss of the season.
“We’re still maturing as a team,” Richardson said, “and maybe we were on our back foot from patting ourselves on the back for coming back in the last game.”
Florida carries momentum into its visit to Chicago. The Panthers have won three of four after blanking the host Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Thursday, as Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 22 shots he faced for the 39th shutout of his career.
Steven Lorentz, an offseason acquisition from San Jose, provided the only goal Florida would need when he scored in the final minute of the second period.
Anton Lundell’s empty-netter with 1:12 to go provided the margin. It was the first goal of the season for both Panthers.
“We have to grind a little bit to score right now, but that’s fine,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We’re learning how to battle and grind, and we’re a pretty good defensive team even with a lot of new faces in our lineup.”
Make no mistake, the mainstays are contributing, too. Forward Aleksander Barkov, who won 12 of 14 faceoffs against the Red Wings, played his 672nd game with the Panthers, most in club history.
“He’s a great offensive player, but I don’t think many people see how high his hockey IQ is,” Bobrovsky said. “He can do anything on the ice — offense and defense. If I gave him my goalie gear, he would be great at that, too.”
Bedard, the top pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has goals in three of his past four games. He remains in search of the first multi-point game of his career.
Florida and Chicago split their two meetings last season, with each club winning on its home ice.
–Field Level Media
