"He's coming off a great trip and a good start to this homestand," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "I love his consistency. He's growing in his composure in the net. Either standing behind the bench or watching him play in front as player, we all like the progress."
Tied with the Lightning for the second-most points in the Central Division, the Panthers have won five of their last six games to improve to 18-5-4 on the season. So far, Florida has taken each of its first three meetings against Chicago this season, including a 4-2 win on Saturday.
In that win, Anthony Duclair set up Aleksander Barkov for a pair of goals, while Frank Vatrano and Carter Verhaeghe each also found the back of the net. Tied for first on the team in even-strength goals (10), Vatrano has been on fire lately, scoring six goals in his last nine games.
"I think overall the team's been playing great," Vatrano said. "For myself, it's been going good as of late. I think that comes with the team playing so well, all the guys around me playing so well."
Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers in scoring with 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists). After him, Barkov ranks second with 31 and is tied with Patric Hornqvist for the most goals with 11.
Reaching a personal milestone tonight, MacKenzie Weegar will skate in the 200th game of his NHL career. Coming together to form the team's top-defensive pairing with Aaron Ekblad, the 27-year-old is currently tied for first among NHL defensemen with 16 points at even strength.
On a four-game point streak, Weegar has posted a goal and five assists during that stretch.
"It seems like he has a little added patience with the puck this year," Quenneville said of Weegar, who has turned into a seventh-round steal out of the 2013 NHL Draft. "His play recognition is improving as well. He's involved in the attack as an extra guy a lot."
Holding down the fourth spot in the division at 14-10-5, the Blackhawks have dropped four of their last six games. Winning nine of 12 games before their sudden downswing, they've been outscored 24-15 while surrendering 36.2 shots per contest during that tough six-game stretch.
A mid-season contender for the Hart Trophy, Patrick Kane leads the team and ranks third in the league with 41 points (11 goals, 30 assists), while Dominik Kubalik paces the club with 15 goals. Earning at least one point in 10 of his last 12 games, Kane has registered 19 points in that span.
In Saturday's loss to the Panthers, Brandon Hagel and Adam Boqvist both scored for Chicago.
"We have to regroup, focus up, get back to the drawing board and be ready in a couple of days," Hagel told reporters following the defeat. "We can't really dread on this."
Manning the crease, rookie Kevin Lankinen will make his third straight start after stopping 31 of 35 shots during Saturday's loss to the Panthers. In 19 appearances this season, the 25-year-old goaltender has gone 10-5-4 on top of a 2.79 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
Overall, Florida has earned points in each of its last eight games against Chicago, going 5-0-3.
"They're a great team," Vatrano said of the Blackhawks. "They've got some dangerous players in and out of the lineup. A pretty dangerous team off the rush. When we play against them, we do a good job of shutting down their transition. That's the way they want to play."
