Blackhawks at Panthers
Although Patrick Kane scored twice in his last contest, several other high-profile members of the Chicago Blackhawks are mired in significant goal-scoring slumps. Captain Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp look to put an end to those difficulties as the Blackhawks complete a three-game road trip against the Florida Panthers on Saturday at the BB&T Center.
"It never gets easy. You think about it all the time. You feel that pressure in tight games, and in losses, definitely," said Sharp, who has failed to score in 15 consecutive games. Toews has just two goals - including one into an empty net - in his last 16 contests while Saad has one tally in his last 15 games for Chicago, which has overcome a lack of offense to record at least a point in four of its last five outings (3-1-1). The Blackhawks will look to solve Roberto Luongo, who upped his save percentage to .955 in his last six starts after turning away 43 shots in Wednesday's 2-1 shootout win over Toronto. The 38-year-old hasn't yielded more than one even-strength goal in his last three games overall and sports a .931 save percentage with five shutouts in his career versus Chicago.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN Chicago, FSN Florida
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (10-8-3): Chicago has embraced a rather simplistic solution to a complicated season-long dilemma that was its ailing power play, and it seems to be working. "Shoot the puck, retrieve the puck, shoot again," forward Artem Anisimov told the Chicago Sun-Times of the team's units with the man advantage, who have converted 6-of-17 opportunities in their last four games after a dreadful 2-for-33 stint in the previous eight. The Blackhawks will aim to improve upon their 25th-ranked power play (16.5 percent) against the Panthers' 30th-ranked penalty kill (73.2 percent).
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (8-11-2): Captain Derek MacKenzie returned to practice on Friday and could be in line to end a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury versus the Blackhawks. "Once he gets off the ice, we're going to talk to him, see how he feels, how he dealt with the practice and then make a decision whether (Saturday's) the day or it's going to be on the road trip," coach Bob Boughner told the Sun-Sentinel. Defenseman Mark Pysyk's availability is also in question as he sustained a lower-body injury versus the Maple Leafs despite logging a season-high 22:41 of ice time and unleashing five shots on goal.
OVERTIME
1. Kane, who scored twice in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss at Tampa Bay, has seven points (three goals, four assists) during a five-game point streak.
2. Panthers RW Nick Bjugstad, who scored in regulation and the shootout versus Toronto, also tallied in his last encounter against the Blackhawks.
3. Chicago RW Richard Panik is mired in a 12-game goal drought, while RW Ryan Hartman and C Nick Schmaltz have one goal in 13 and 17 games, respectively.