Panthers bring a 9-1 hangover into a Sunday fix in Chicago

Two games, nine goals against, one goal for. That's the road trip so far, and Paul Maurice spent Saturday saying it isn't a system problem. I believe him.

Florida looked a step slow in Ottawa and Pittsburgh, and you don't fix effort with a whiteboard. You fix it in a Sunday matinee against a 3-7-0 team that's searching for answers of its own.

This is a game the cats should win, and that's what worries me. DraftKings has Florida at -185 with the total at 6.5. By our count, the Panthers are 2-8 against the puck line this season, so being the favorite hasn't meant much in the standings yet. (21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.)

The lineup card:

These are Saturday's practice lines, so treat them as expected until warmups.

• Forwards: Brady Tkachuk–Sam Bennett–Matthew Tkachuk · Carter Verhaeghe–Sam Reinhart–Sandis Vilmanis · Eetu Luostarinen–Anton Lundell–Lars Eller · Bokondji Imama–Cole Schwindt–Garnet Hathaway

• Defense: Gustav Forsling–Aaron Ekblad · Niko Mikkola–Seth Jones · Dmitry Kulikov–Radko Gudas

• Goalies: Akira Schmid starts, Cooper Black backs up

• Scratches: Uvis Balinskis, Cole Reinhardt

The move I like is Vilmanis. He sat in Pittsburgh and comes back on Reinhart's wing. Maurice said they "gave him a little bit of a reset." He has one assist in 10 games, so that's a coach handing a 22-year-old a real chance.

Gudas is back too, which means somebody on Chicago's top line gets leaned on all afternoon.

The goalies

Schmid is confirmed. He's 2-2-1 with an .867 save percentage, and that number has to climb while Jacob Markstrom is out. Black made his NHL debut Thursday and stopped 18 shots.

Chicago hasn't named its guy. Spencer Knight has started five straight and sits at .888. Arvid Soderblom (0-2-0, .820) could get the call.

Who's out

Florida: Markstrom (upper body, 10 to 14 days), Aleksander Barkov (knee, long-term IR), Brad Marchand (knee, rehabbing from August surgery) and Jonah Gadjovich (neck, out indefinitely). Chicago: Bowen Byram (upper body) has missed three straight and skated in a non-contact jersey Saturday.

The other bench

The Blackhawks have lost two straight and scored one goal doing it, 4-1 to Montreal and 4-0 to Dallas. They're 3-3 at United Center and 0-4 on the road.

Patrick Kane and Anton Frondell share the team lead with six points. Connor Bedard has four points in four games and plays 20 minutes a night. Per NHL data, Chicago's power play is at 10.3% and its kill is at 77.4%.

Head to head

Florida swept last season's series, 3-2 at home and 5-1 in Chicago, and is 7-3-0 in the last 10 meetings. Matthew Tkachuk has 21 points in 21 career games against the Blackhawks.

The one matchup:

Florida's power play against that 77.4% kill.

In Pittsburgh, Reinhart and Brady Tkachuk each played about four more minutes than the game before, per NHL data, and both got 5.9 minutes on the power play. The unit still went quiet, and that's the part Maurice needs fixed immediately. Chicago gives you opportunities. Bury two of them and this game is over by the second intermission.

Pabs' read:

Verhaeghe plays his 500th NHL game today. Maurice called him "one of the best playoff players I've ever coached," and he owns the franchise record with 33 playoff goals. A guy like that doesn't let a road trip go 0-3. Panthers 4-2, with a power-play goal from the Tkachuk line.

How to watch

Puck drops at 3 p.m. ET at United Center. It's on Scripps for Panthers fans, CHSN in Chicago, and Sportsnet and TVAS in Canada. Radio is 560 WQAM.