Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers | Wednesday, November 4, 2026 | 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET | Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida | TNT, truTV, HBO Max
First, a heads-up: this one is in Sunrise, not at the United Center. The Panthers are the home team tonight, and it’s the second of two meetings this season.
I picked the Bruins to beat us on Saturday, 3-1. Chicago did lose in Boston, which means I had the winner, but I couldn’t find a reliable final score, so I’m not going to grade the margin. Monday brought another loss, this time to Colorado, and the Hawks are now 4-10-1. I’ll be honest as a fan: this is a rough stretch, and the Sun-Times has reported pressure building on GM Kyle Davidson and coach Jeff Blashill.
Game Info: Blackhawks at Panthers
- Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2026
- Puck drop: 6:30 PM CT / 7:30 PM ET
- Venue: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida
- TV: TNT, truTV and HBO Max (Florida side). I didn’t find a Chicago local listing, so check CHSN
- Records: Blackhawks 4-10-1 (9 points, last 10: 3-6-1); Panthers 8-5-2 (18 points, last 10: 6-4-0)
- Odds: TheSpread.com listed Florida at -260 and Chicago at +215, with a puck line of Panthers -1.5 (+105) and a total of 6.0. Inside the Rink had DraftKings at Florida -250 and Chicago +205. The -260 price implies roughly a 72% win chance for the Panthers
- Season series: Florida won the first meeting 3-2 at the United Center on Oct. 25
Where the Hawks Are
The numbers are ugly. Chicago scores 2.20 goals a game (last in the league per TheSpread), allows 3.87 and has the worst power play in the NHL at 10.6%. The Hawks average 23 shots for and give up 30.3. The penalty kill, at 79.6%, is the one special-teams unit that has been fairly steady.
- Goalie: Spencer Knight (4-8-0, .894, 3.28 GAA) is expected to start, though it isn’t confirmed. The Hawks play in Tampa on Thursday, so a backup start (Arvid Soderblom) is possible. Knight was drafted by Florida, so there’s a revenge angle, for what it’s worth.
- Projected lines (Inside the Rink): Kantserov-Bedard-Donato, Bertuzzi-Frondell-Mangiapane, Moore-Nazar-Kane and Smith-Greene-Teravainen, with Vlasic-Cole, Kaiser-Levshunov and Del Mastro-Rinzel on defense. Note that Kane is listed as injured in the same preview, so that list may not be final.
- Injuries: Patrick Kane (upper body) is expected back around Nov. 12. Bowen Byram (upper body, IR) is expected back around Nov. 7. Ryan Ellis is out for the season.
- Bedard: He is still driving possession numbers, per Inside the Rink. That’s about the only consistent positive.
The Panthers: Banged Up, Still Good Defensively
Florida is 8-5-2 and fifth in the Atlantic. It scores 3.13 goals a game and allows 2.93. The shot suppression is the real strength: the Panthers allow 24.5 shots a game, third-fewest in the league. They lost 5-3 at home to Detroit on Monday, which ended a three-game winning streak.
- Injuries: Aleksander Barkov (knee, expected back Nov. 27) and Brad Marchand (knee, expected back Nov. 21) are both out. Jonah Gadjovich (upper body) is also out.
- Projected lines (Inside the Rink): B. Tkachuk-Bennett-M. Tkachuk, Verhaeghe-Reinhart-Vilmanis, Luostarinen-Lundell-Eller and Imama-Schwindt-Hathaway, with Forsling-Ekblad, Mikkola-Jones and Kulikov-Gudas on defense.
- Goalie: Jacob Markstrom (3-2-1, .890) or Akira Schmid (5-2-1, .889). Markstrom is coming back from an upper-body injury that cost him five games. Neither number is scary.
- Possession: Sam Bennett leads the team without Barkov, per Inside the Rink.
- Special teams: Power play 23.5%, penalty kill 83.9%, and 13.7 penalty minutes per game, which theScore ranks 32nd (I read that as the most in the league).
The Matchups That Matter
Chicago’s power play against Florida’s penalty trouble. The Panthers take a lot of penalties, which is the most realistic way a team that scores two goals a night finds a third. A 10.6% power play has to produce something.
Shot volume. Florida allows the third-fewest shots in the league and the Hawks generate 23 a night. If we don’t get to 28 or so, Markstrom or Schmid won’t have to be good.
Knight against a Florida offense without its center. Barkov’s absence matters. The Panthers still have both Tkachuks, Bennett, Reinhart and Verhaeghe, and they beat us on Oct. 25, but the top end is thinner than it was.
Bedard’s line against the Forsling-Ekblad pair. I’m watching who draws that matchup. If Bedard gets space, the Hawks have a chance.
The Tampa back-to-back. Chicago plays in Tampa on Thursday. If the staff rests Knight, Soderblom is in net against a team that sits at -260.
What Actually Decides It
The market has the Panthers at about 72%, and as a fan I can’t argue much. We have the league’s worst offense, the league’s worst power play and a road record that was 0-5-1 as of theScore’s latest page. The one real reason for hope is Florida’s injuries and its 5-3 loss to Detroit on Monday. The Panthers aren’t at full strength.
My best case for the Hawks is a 3-2 game: we draw a couple of penalties, Knight steals one against his old team and Bedard finds a goal. But I haven’t seen enough to pick it. I’ll take Florida in a game that stays close for two periods and gets away late.
Final Score Prediction: Florida Panthers 4, Chicago Blackhawks 2
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