Players to Watch: CHI vs FLA (3/25/21)
(Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Chicago Blackhawks finally beat the Florida Panthers on Tuesday with a final score of 3-2. They had to celebrate and move on quickly because they face off again tonight at the United Center.
Here’s a quick recap of some numbers for you.
Florida Panthers: 32 games played (20-8-4), 107 goals for and 91 goals against for a Goal Differential of +16
Chicago Blackhawks: 33 games played (15-13-5), 98 goals for and 108 goals against for a Goal Differential of -10
Goals from Tuesday night:
Dominik Kubalik (11) - Brandon Hagel (8), Connor Murphy (6)
Pius Suter (9) - Nikita Zadorov (6), Patrick Kane (31)
Carl Soderberg (6) - Patrick Kane (32), Alex DeBrincat (16)
Anton Stralman (3) - Noel Acciari (4), Owen Tippett (4)
Alex Wennberg (7) - Noel Acciari (5), Jonathan Huberdeau (25)
Goalies:
Kevin Lankinen (W) - 35 shots against, 33 saves .943sv%
Chris Driedger (L) - 32 shots against, 29 saves .906sv%
Players to watch!
Kevin Lankinen
Kevin Lankinen is back on this list for the second straight game, and he is (obviously) back in net. He had a bounce-back game on Tuesday and came up with some huge stops. Florida has a lot of firepower up front and on the blue line. Lankinen’s job won’t be easy. He has to come out strong again.
Patrick Kane
Patrick Kane picked up 2 assists in the last game against the Panthers. While the goaltending and defense looked better (and Florida was missing Barkov), the Blackhawks often have to outscore their mistakes. I’ve said before, and we all know, that the offense runs through Kane. If they want to take 2 straight against the Panthers, he has to have a good game.
Adam Boqvist
Adam Boqvist’s defensive game has been steadily improving. He’s suddenly become the master of breaking up 2-on-1s which I didn’t see coming. He channels his inner Hjalmarsson and goes sliding on the ice to make sure the pass does get through to the backdoor. While there will never be another Niklas Hjalmarsson, it’s been good to see. He also has a fantastic shot. If both sides of his game are on point at the same time, the Blackhawks will be very happy.