Panthers Get Their Bounce-Back Game Wednesday: Chicago Visits Sunrise to Close the Season Series
Florida's 5-3 loss to Detroit ended a three-game streak, and the fix is scheduled quickly — a 4-9-1 Blackhawks team the Panthers already beat 3-2 in October, in the clubs' second and final meeting of the season.
The Florida Panthers do not have to wait long to answer Monday's loss. One night after Detroit's two goals in 45 seconds flipped a 2-2 game and ended Florida's winning streak at three, the Panthers close the first half of their homestand Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise — puck drop 7:30 p.m. Eastern, in the second and final regular-season meeting between the clubs.
The first meeting set the matchup's terms. Florida won 3-2 in Chicago on October 25, and the Blackhawks' missed opportunity was specific: Chicago went 0-for-7 on the power play in that game, including a pair of 5-on-3 advantages it failed to convert. The season's underlying numbers, as compiled in South Florida's weekly sports preview, lean the same direction — Florida averaging about 3.00 goals per game while allowing 2.85, against a Chicago team averaging 2.17 goals for and 3.67 against, with the Panthers holding the edge on special teams. Chicago arrives at 4-9-1, searching for consistency; Florida, at 8-5-2, is defending the standard of a contender that Monday's third period dented but did not redefine.
Monday's loss also returned a piece of Florida's puzzle: Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves in his first game since October 17, and head coach Paul Maurice's published verdict on the night — a strong Detroit game, and a Florida game he was not in love with — frames Wednesday plainly. A team that led Detroit in scoring chances 43-23 and lost anyway does not need a new system; it needs the finish and the third period it played during the three-game streak that preceded it.
The game is the Panthers' No. 16 of the season, presented as the homestand's Hometown Remix Game 2, with local television on Scripps Sports (WSFL 39) and national coverage on TNT and truTV per the week's listings. After Chicago, Florida's schedule tightens into the run of seven games in eleven nights the club's broadcasters flagged over the weekend — which is another way of saying Wednesday is the home game to bank before the road and the density arrive.
