PREVIEW: Blackhawks vs. Panthers - April 29, 2021

TIME: 7 p.m. CT
TV:NBCSCH | RADIO:WGN 720-AM / TUDN 1200-AM | STREAM:
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The Blackhawks and Panthers meet again on Thursday night at the United Center, opening a two-game set to wrap their season slate this weekend.

TEAM RECORDS

CHI: 22-22-5, 49 PTS
FLA: 32-14-5, 69 PTS

LAST TIME OUT

Chicago fell behind early to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night and couldn't complete the third-period comeback bid, falling 7-4. Brandon Hagel, Wyatt Kalynuk, Duncan Keith and Dominik Kubalik all scored in the loss, while Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban split goaltending duties, each allowing three goals on the night.
Florida secured a playoff spot on Tuesday night with a 7-4 win of their own over the Nashville Predators. Four different Panthers registered multi-point games: Jonathan Huberdeau (2G, 3A), Aleksander Barkov (2G, 1A), Sam Bennett (3A) and Owen Tippett (1G, 1A).

VS. FLORIDA

The Blackhawks took both games from the Panthers when the clubs met on March 23 and 25 at the United Center. Kevin Lankinen made 41 saves on March 25 for his second career shutout, becoming the first rookie netminder in franchise history to make 40+ saves in a shutout performance.
Duncan Keith posted back-to-back multi-point efforts vs. the Panthers on Jan. 17 and 19 and leads Chicago with six assists vs. Florida this year.

KAMPF ON THE DRAW

David Kampf won 11 of 12 faceoffs against the Lightning on Tuesday. His 91.7 percent faceoff win percentage was the highest of his career (min. 10 faceoffs). He has won 11 or more faceoffs three times over his last eight skates.
The Chomutov, Czech Republic native has won a career-best 354 draws this season and his 53.1 percent FOW% is the second highest total of his career.

HAGEL STRIKES

Brandon Hagel scored his eighth marker of the season on Tuesday night. He has six points (3G, 3A) over his last six games and is the 10th rookie in the National Hockey League to reach the 20-point (8G, 12A) plateau this year.
Hagel joined Brent Seabrook (2 in 2005-06) as just the second Blackhawks rookie with multiple overtime goals after netting the game winner on April 21. Only five rookies in NHL history have scored more overtime goals.
Hagel notched a career-high three points (1G, 2A) on the 21st. It was also his first career multi-assist game.

WYATT'S WORLD

Wyatt Kalynuk extended his career-long point streak (2G, 1A) to three games with a marker against the Lightning. His four goals this year share the lead among NHL rookie blueliners. That total also shares the most among Blackhawks defensemen.
Kalynuk has six points (4G, 2A) over his last eight games.

HARDY HITS

Mike Hardman was credited with seven hits in his NHL debut on Tuesday evening. That total matches the most by a Blackhawk (Reese Johnson on Jan. 31, 2021 vs. CBJ) in their first NHL game in franchise history (hit data dates back to the 2005-06 season).
The last player, prior to Johnson, to notch seven hits in their league debut was Sam Morin (PHI) on April 4, 2017.

BASH BRO

Vinnie Hinostroza extended his point streak (2G, 2A) to a season-long three games with a helper against Tampa Bay. He has two multi-point games over his last five skates.
Hinostroza matched a career high with three assists and points (3A) on April 17. It was his seventh career three-point game and his first since Dec. 12, 2019 as a member of the Florida Panthers. He has two goals and seven assists in 10 games with the Blackhawks since being acquired for his second stint with the club on April 2.