The 2025-26 NHL season opens today with the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers hosting Connor Bedard, Spencer Knight and the rest of the Chicago Blackhawks at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN. Prior to the game, the Cats will see their franchise’s second-consecutive championship banner raised at Amerant Bank Arena during the Stanley Cup banner ceremony.
Florida will be without the services of captain Aleksander Barkov, spiritual leader and supreme pest Matthew Tkachuk and fourth line center Tomas Nosek to start the campaign. Veteran newbies Luke Kunin, and Jeff Petry join the squad as it tries to become the first team since the early 1980s to win three-straight titles.
New head coach Jeff Blashill will try to push Chicago’s rebuild forward after the club finished in last place in the Central Division last season with 61 points. The Blackhawks are all in on the youth movement, but did add potentially helpful veteran forward Andre Burakovsky, who recorded ten goals and 37 points in 79 games with the Seattle Kraken in 2024-25.
- WHEN: 5 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: ESPN
- ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 ESPN West Palm (PB)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #Blackhawks, #CHIvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Second City Hockey
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 2
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 5, CHI 1 (Recap) – 2/1/2025
- NEXT MEETING: January 25, 2026
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky / Chicago: Spencer Knight
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Chicago
Tonight’s games
- Pittsburgh at New York Rangers 8 p.m. (ESPN)
- Colorado at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)