Paul Maurice just confirmed that Jacob Markstrom will start in net tonight for the Panthers against the Blackhawks.
The Panthers also make a change on defense. Uvis Balinskis is in and Radko Gudas is out, according to beat writer Jameson Olive.
Florida is coming off a 5-3 loss to Detroit on Monday, which dropped the Panthers to 8-5-2. Chicago arrives 4-10-1 and has lost three straight.
Olive reported that Markstrom is in net, per Maurice.
The team's official account backed it up, saying Markstrom will be in net tonight against Chicago, per Coach Maurice.
Markstrom has played 7 games this season. He was listed on injured reserve in our October 25 article, and the Panthers have leaned on Akira Schmid while he was out.
Schmid has played 8 games, started last time out against the Jets and won again. Our Sunday story noted that Markstrom was skating while Schmid kept winning.
Balinskis replaces Gudas on the Panthers blue line
Olive also reported that Balinskis is coming in for Gudas, per Maurice.
Balinskis has appeared in 7 games this season with 1 assist and a +1 rating. Gudas has played 11 games without a point and sits at -1.
Gudas is also sitting on 896 career games, four short of 900. That milestone now waits at least one more night.
Maurice made the decision on the defense swap. Nothing further is known about the reason behind it.
Markstrom's return to the crease is the bigger question. Schmid has been winning, and Maurice now has to decide how he splits the starts between two goalies.
Should Paul Maurice stick with Akira Schmid while he's winning?
Voting closed
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