Blackhawks Game Day
Blackhawks vs. Panthers: Opening-Night Preview, Lineups, How To Watch, & More
Here we go! The Chicago Blackhawks play the opening game of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. For the eighth consecutive season, the Blackhawks open on the road, with the game set for Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
The Panthers will raise their 2025 Stanley Cup banner and start their quest for a three-peat without two crucial players in their lineup. Captain Aleksander Barkov and star forward Matthew Tkachuk won’t be playing in the season opener and are both expected to be out for an extended period of time. Barkov, a three-time Selke Trophy winner, is out for 7-9 months following ACL and MCL surgery. Tkachuk, the heart and soul of the franchise, is likely to be out until at least December.
From a Blackhawks perspective, all eyes will be on Connor Bedard and how he looks entering his third NHL campaign. Bedard posted career-highs in goals (23), assists (44), and points (67) last year and became just the 11th teenager in NHL history to record multiple 60-point seasons. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick has performed well against the Panthers in his young career, tallying three goals in four games. Bedard scored twice in his first appearance at Amerant Bank Arena on November 12th, 2023.
After being dealt by the Blackhawks ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, Seth Jones helped steer the Panthers to a second Stanley Cup in as many years. Jones, who played in 259 games with Chicago from 2021-25, tallied four goals, five assists, and averaged 25:30 of ice time in 23 postseason contests. The 31-year-old defenseman will face off against the Blackhawks for the first time since being traded.
Here’s everything to note before the puck drops tonight in Sunrise at 4 p.m. CT.
2024-25 Results vs. Panthers
The Blackhawks split the season series with the Panthers in 2024-25 and are 3-2-1 overall in the last six meetings.
11/21/24 3-1 W, United Center
02/02/25 5-1 L, Amerant Bank Arena
Projected Blackhawks Lines
FORWARD LINES
Ryan Donato-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Tyler Bertuzzi
Colton Dach-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno-Ryan Greene-Sam Lafferty
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Matt Grzelcyk-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Ethan Del Mastro-Connor Murphy
SCRATCHED
D – Louis Crevier, F – Lukas Reichel
INJURED
F – Joey Anderson (lower body), G – Laurent Brossoit (hip), F – Landon Slaggert (lower body), D – Alex Vlasic (lower body)
***
The Blackhawks recalled Ryan Greene from Rockford on Monday, while Landon Slaggert was placed on injured reserve. Colton Dach gets bumped up to the third line in place of Slaggert with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev, while Greene centers the fourth line with Nick Foligno and Sam Lafferty.
Despite making the trip to Florida, Alex Vlasic isn’t expected to play in the season opener. Matt Grzelcyk makes his Blackhawks debut on the top pairing with Sam Rinzel, while Ethan Del Mastro enters the lineup on the third pairing with Connor Murphy.
Projected Panthers Lines
FORWARD LINES
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich-Evan Rodrigues-Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer-Luke Kunin-Jonah Gadjovich
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov-Jeff Petry
SCRATCHED
D – Uvis Balinskis, F – Cole Schwindt
INJURED
F – Aleksander Barkov (knee), F – Tomas Nosek (knee), F – Matthew Tkachuk (lower body)
GOALTENDING MATCHUP
Spencer Knight (0-0-0, .000 Sv%) vs. Sergei Bobrovsky (0-0-0, .000 Sv%)
Knight will face his former team for the first time since being traded to Chicago on March 1st, 2025, as part of the Jones deal. The 24-year-old netminder went 5-8-2 with a 3.18 GAA and .893 Sv% in his first 15 starts with the Blackhawks at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Bobrovsky, Knight’s former tandem mate, is entering his seventh season with the Panthers. The 37-year-old Russian goaltender went 33-19-2 with a 2.44 GAA, .905 Sv%, and 5 shutouts in 54 starts last year.
How To Watch, Listen, & Game Info
Chicago Blackhawks (0-0-0) @ Florida Panthers (0-0-0)
4 p.m. CT — Amerant Bank Arena
TV/Stream: ESPN (Wischusen/Weekes), SN1, TVAS
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Roumeliotis)
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