Panthers at Blackhawks preview
Quenneville returns to Chicago for first time as coach with Florida
by Brandon Cain / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
PANTHERS (27-16-5) at BLACKHAWKS (24-20-6)
8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCH, FS-F, NHL.TV
The Game
Joel Quenneville will coach at United Center for the first time with the Florida Panthers when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Quenneville, who led to the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015, was 452-249-96 in 11 seasons before he was fired by Chicago on Nov. 6, 2018. The Panthers hired him April 8.
Florida has scored at least four goals in each game during its season-high five-game winning streak. The Panthers, who won 5-4 at the Minnesota Wild on Monday, are 6-2-1 in the second game of a back-to-back.
The Blackhawks, who are 11-4-0 in their past 15 games, have outscored opponents 22-9 during a season-high five-game winning streak.
Players to watch
Panthers forward Mike Hoffman has 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a nine-game point streak.
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) during a 10-game point streak, the longest active streak in the NHL.
They said it
"It's an important game for both teams. It'll be fun to be back there, for sure." -- Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of his return to Chicago
"I want to win the game, for sure. I mean, that's a hot team over there and I imagine Joel really wants to win this game, especially. So it's a friendly competition. [It's] a team we don't see too often, but points are important for us and for them, as well. Aside from us wanting to get that win over Coach Q and likewise, I think it's a big game for both teams." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews
Panthers projected lineup
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov
Brett Connolly -- Vincent Trocheck -- Noel Acciari
Frank Vatrano -- Dominic Toninato -- Mike Hoffman
Colton Sceviour -- Brian Boyle -- Mark Pysyk
Mike Matheson -- Aaron Ekblad
Riley Stillman -- Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle -- Josh Brown
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Jayce Hawryluk, Denis Malgin
Injured: Chris Driedger (lower body), MacKenzie Weegar (upper body)
Blackhawks projected lineup
Dominik Kubalik -- Jonathan Toews -- Drake Caggiula
Brandon Saad -- Ryan Carpenter -- Patrick Kane
David Kampf -- Kirby Dach -- Alex DeBrincat
Alex Nylander -- Zack Smith -- Matthew Highmore
Duncan Keith -- Adam Boqvist
Erik Gustafsson -- Connor Murphy
Olli Maatta -- Slater Koekkoek
Robin Lehner
Corey Crawford
Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Brandon Hagel
Injured: Calvin de Haan (right shoulder), Brent Seabrook (right shoulder/left and right hip), Andrew Shaw (concussion protocol), Dylan Strome (right ankle)
Status report
The Panthers did not hold a morning skate. … The Blackhawks recalled Gilbert, a defenseman, and Hagel, a forward, from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Monday.
Stat pack
Barkov, who has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak, is two points from 400 in the NHL. … Huberdeau has 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in his past 16 games. … Kubalik has 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in his past nine games. … Lehner has won three straight starts and six of his past seven. … Toews, who has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) during a six-game point streak, is one point from 800 in the NHL.