NHL On Tap: Panthers try to find traction against Blue Jackets

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from two games Sunday.

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Panthers seek traction amid changes

The Florida Panthers (9-7-2) have a date at the Columbus Blue Jackets (6 p.m. ET; BSOH, BSFL, ESPN+, SN NOW), one day after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames. The reigning Presidents' Trophy winners enter Thanksgiving week fifth in the Atlantic Division after an offseason of change that brought a new coach (Paul Maurice) and a major trade with the Flames that added forward Matthew Tkachuk and sent forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary. The transition from 34-year-old goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to Spencer Knight, 21-years-old and the No. 13 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is nigh. Bobrovsky is likely to start after Knight made 31 saves Saturday. He's 4-4-1 with a 3.46 goals-against average and .895 save percentage playing the fourth season of a seven-year contract and buying the Panthers time to groom his eventual successor. That time may arrive in the very near future. Knight (5-3-1, 2.43 GAA, .918 save percentage, one shutout in eight starts) became the fifth different NHL goalie since 1955-56 with a 40-save shutout before turning 22 when he led the Panthers to a 3-0 win at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 9. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

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Hossa's No. 81 rises to the rafters

Marian Hossa's No. 81 will be retired by the Chicago Blackhawks before they play the Pittsburgh Penguins at United Center (7 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSCH, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW). After losing in the Stanley Cup Final with the Penguins (2008) and Detroit Red Wings (2009), Hossa joined the Blackhawks and won the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Forward Patrick Kane and center Jonathan Toews, the leaders of those three championship teams, are destined to have their numbers in the rafters too, but each 34-year-old is in the final season of his contract and could go elsewhere before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3. Kane leads the Blackhawks with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists). Toews leads them in goals (eight). -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

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Malkin mania

Evgeni Malkin will play in his 1,000th NHL game when the Penguins visit the Blackhawks. The 36-year-old forward is still at the top of his game. He has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 18 games this season and 1,165 points (451 goals, 714 assists) in 999 NHL regular-season games. Malkin has seven points (two goals, five assists) during his current six-game point streak and has scored at least one point in 11 of his past 13 games. He will become the eighth Russia-born player to reach 1,000 games. Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals, who has played in 1,294 NHL games and counting, tops that list. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

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Sunday games

Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets (6 p.m. ET; BSOH, BSFL, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida and is ninth in the NHL with 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists). He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in a three-game point streak. The Panthers (9-7-2) have lost three of their past four games (1-2-1). The Blue Jackets (6-10-1) lost 6-1 to the Detroit Red Wings at home Saturday after winning two straight. Columbus forward Boone Jenner has a three-game point streak (three goals, two assists).
Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks (7 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSCH, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh and is tied for 10th in the NHL with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists). The Penguins (8-7-3) have won their past two games, including 3-0 at the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. The Blackhawks (6-8-3) have lost three in a row in regulation and are 2-6-3 in their past 11 games, including a 6-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on Saturday.