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No Tears Left To Cry: Panthers 6, Blackhawks 3

Posted on by Shepard Price

The Blackhawks lost 6-3 to the Panthers in Sunrise on Monday, blowing a 3-1 lead. It’s Chicago’s fourth loss in the last five games. The Blackhawks have yet to beat the Panthers this season and have just one point through the first four of their eight games against Florida this season.

Patrick Kane scored the first goal just over 10 minutes into the game as David Kampf intercepted a pass and sent it Kane’s way:

The Blackhawks gave up the next goal as Panthers’ rookie Owen Tippett scored on the power play. The Panthers looked to score the next goal to start the second period as well but it was ruled a high stick.

Philipp Kurashev scored almost a full period after Kane’s goal to put the Blackhawks up one:

Mattias Janmark set Kurashev up for the goal, as Calvin de Haan made the outlet pass. It’s Kurashev’s seventh goal of the season and first since March 7.

The Blackhawks went up 3-1 less than three minutes after Kurashev’s goal as Duncan Keith’s shot from the point hit Brandon Hagel and Hagel put in the rebound:

It’s Hagel’s second goal in the last two games.

One minute later, Alex DeBrincat took a penalty and Aaron Ekblad scored on the ensuing power play to answer the two Chicago goals. Gustav Forsling added another goal before the second period was over to tie the game.

Aleksander Barkov scored shorthanded to break the tie more than halfway through the third period, what would ultimately become the game-winning goal. Carter Verhaeghe put in the first empty-net goal and Alexander Wennberg got the second for the 6-3 Florida victory.

Notes

  • Multiple players drew iron throughout the game, as DeBrincat and Forsling both hit the crossbar in nearly the same place. For as much scoring as there was in this game, there could have been even more if both of those shots were a few inches lower. Dominik Kubalik also drew iron on the Blackhawks’ fourth power play.
  • The Blackhawks power play had just four shots and 0.37 expected goals in eight minutes of play. They gave up 0.21 expected goals against and three shots in that same amount of time. It’s their fourth-worst expected goals for percentage (xGF%) of the season on the power play.
  • The Chicago penalty kill wasn’t much better, giving up seven shots and three high-danger chances in 4:48 of shorthanded time. That resulted in two of Florida’s six goals against (four against a netminder) and 1.02 expected goals against. The special teams in this game were bad for the Blackhawks.
  • Weirdly, the Blackhawks were OK at 5-on-5. Chicago had 22 shots for and 23 against as they generated 1.35 expected goals to Florida’s 1.57. The Blackhawks’ offense could have been a lot better throughout, but their even-strength defense wasn’t terrible. The Blackhawks took five high-danger chances and allowed just six at 5-on-5 as well.
  • Kevin Lankinen gave up four goals for the second time in two games against the Panthers, his third game (of three) against Florida giving up four in regulation. The Blackhawks’ rookie goaltender had a .882 save percentage and faced 2.87 expected goals against, giving up two goals from the low-danger area.
  • Brandon Hagel led the Blackhawks in expected goals, with 0.27. He took four shots and had two high-danger chances in this contest, resulting in a goal. Hagel also drew a penalty. The line of Hagel, Pius Suter and Dominik Kubalik was also the Blackhawks’ best at 5-on-5, the only line above water in expected goals at 75.35.
  • This was not a good game./

Game Charts

Three stars

  1. Aleksander Barkov (FLA) — game-winning goal, 2 assists
  2. Gustav Forsling (FLA) — 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA) — 2 assists

What’s next

The Blackhawks head to Tampa Bay to finish off their road games against the Lightning Thursday at 6 p.m.

Talking Points