Kaiser has played a career-high 35 games with the Blackhawks this season, recording three points (1G / 2A), but has been reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs (AHL). The 22-year-old defenseman was the 81st overall pick of the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Spellacy was a third-round pick, 72nd overall, of the Blackhawks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old forward is in his third season with the Windsor Spitfires (OHL), tallying 25 points (11G / 14A) through 40 games.
Del Mastro was a fourth-round pick, 105th overall, of the Blackhawks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old defenseman made his NHL debut last season, playing two games. He has spent the entirety of the 2024-25 campaign in the AHL, tallying eight points (0G / 8A) in 38 games with the Rockford IceHogs.
On the tail end of a back-to-back, the Panthers will turn to Knight between the pipes on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Knight was excellent in his most recent outing, saving all 34 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks for his second shutout of the season. He has a 2.45 GAA and .905 SV% in 18 appearances this season (9-6-1). The Panthers enter Wednesday's contest as slight +102 road underdogs against the Kings.
Dickinson is battling an illness but has two days to recover before the Blackhawks return to action on Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 29-year-old Dickinson is averaging 16:10 time-on-ice and has 14 points (7G / 7A) in 47 games this season.
The Blackhawks will hope to snap a three-game losing skid on Thursday when they turn to Soderblom between the pipes in a matchup against the Nashville Predators. The 25-year-old Soderblom struggled in his most recent outing, allowing four goals on 34 shots (.882 SV%) in a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. He has a 2.99 GAA and .903 SV% in 19 appearances this season (6-11-1). The Blackhawks enter Thursday's contest as significant +241 road underdogs against a Predators squad coming off an impressive 5-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Kuzmin was a third-round pick, 82nd overall, of the Winnipeg Jets in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game. He has four points (1G / 3A) in 21 games with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) this season.
On the tail end of a back-to-back, the Panthers will turn to Knight between the pipes on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. Knight has only played once in the previous seven game but was stellar in that outing, saving 29 of 31 shots (.935 SV%) in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 23-year-old Knight has a 2.80 GAA and .891 SV% in 15 appearances this season (7-6-1).
T.J. Brodie will be a healthy scratch on Monday against the Calgary Flames, allowing Kaiser to re-enter the lineup. The 22-year-old Kaiser is averaging 17:44 time-on-ice and has three points (1G / 2A) in 32 games this season.
Lafferty will fill in for Beck Malenstyn (illness) after serving as a healthy scratch for Saturday's game in Vegas. Lafferty has just one goal and two assists in 29 games this season.
Knight went 2-2-1 with a 3.80 GAA and .846 SV% in five games in December. Knight will look to put a tough month of December behind him, as he starts January with a decent matchup vs. the Penguins. Despite being on the second half of a back-to-back, Knight and the Panthers have the second-highest implied Win% (65.6%) on the slate. Knight has been significantly better on home-ice this season, going 2-3-0 with a. 2.09 GAA, .914 SV% and one shutout in Florida, versus 4-3-1 with a 3.39 GAA and .871 SV% on the road.
