RECAP: Blackhawks Earn First Point, Fall to Panthers in OT

The Blackhawks earned their first point of the season on Tuesday night, but ultimately fell to the Florida Panthers in overtime to close out their season-opening road trip, 5-4.
Dominik Kubalik scored twice on the power play, Patrick Kane added his second of the season and Philipp Kurashev netted his first NHL goal in the loss. Kevin Lankinen made 23 saves in his NHL debut on the night in goal.

CHI at FLA
GAMECENTER: CHI at FLA
GALLERY: Blackhawks at Panthers
BLACKHAWK OF THE NIGHT: Kubalik paced Chicago with three points on the night (2G, 1A) and put seven shots on goal, the second-most in a game in his career (10 - Oct. 20, 2019 vs. WSH).
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Kubalik's first-period goal gave the Blackhawks a power-play tally in four straight games to open the year -- a feat that hadn't been accomplished since the also-shortened 2012-13 season. The winger added another power-play goal for good measure in the second, the sixth multi-goal game of his young career.
UP NEXT: The Blackhawks returns home to the United Center for the first time since March 11, 2020 as they host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night in the home opener (NBCSCH)

GAME RECAP

CHI: 0, FLA: 1

1st - 13:25 - Carter Verhaeghe (Aleksander Barkov, Anthony Duclair)

Just past the midway point of the first, Aleksander Barkov sprung Carter Verhaeghe on a breakaway in transition, and the forward beat Lankinen with a forehand-to-backhand move in tight for a 1-0 lead.

CHI: 0, FLA: 2

1st - 16:16 - Patric Hornqvist (Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad) - PPG

Early into the game's opening power play, the Panthers doubled their early lead off a loose puck in front. Keith Yandle threw a shot towards goal off a faceoff, which hit Patric Hornqvist in front of Lankinen, before the forward found the loose puck and quickly put a shot past the Blackhawks' netminder for a 2-0 advantage.

CHI: 1, FLA: 2

1st - 18:40 - Dominik Kubalik - PPG

The Blackhawks answered on their own opening power play as reigning rookie goal leader Dominik Kubalik scored his first of the season. Kubalik was firing on the man advantage and third time was the charm, putting a hard one-timer feed from Lucas Wallmark off a Panther defenseman in front and into the goal to cut Florida's lead to 2-1.

CHI: 1, FLA: 3

2nd - 2:45 - Carter Verhaeghe - PPG

The Panthers scored off a breakaway early in the second period after Anthony Duclair was in all alone against Lankinen mid-change for Chicago. The Blackhawks' goalie made the initial stop on Duclair, but the puck sat in loose in the crease behind him for the late-charging Verhaeghe to clean up for a 3-1 lead on the power play.

CHI: 2, FLA: 3

2nd - 9:05 - Dominik Kubalik (Duncan Keith, Lucas Wallmark) - PPG

Dominik Kubalik struck again on the man advantage on Chicago's second opportunity of the night. Lucas Wallmark won a faceoff on the left side of the offensive zone directly back to Duncan Keith, who promptly found an open Kubalik on the far circle for another one-time blast to pull within a goal, 3-2.

CHI: 3, FLA: 3

2nd - 19:10 - Patrick Kane

Before the middle frame ran out, Patrick Kane put the game on his stick. Circling back inside his own blue line, No. 88 sped down the boards, turned the corner at the bottom of the circle in the offensive zone and laced a backhander over the shoulder of Sergei Bobrovsky to level the game, 3-3.

CHI: 4, FLA: 3

3rd - 6:06 - Philipp Kurashev (Dominik Kubalik, Adam Boqvist)

Philipp Kurashev gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the season early in the third, putting a long-range wrister on net that eluded Bobrovsky's glove and dipped into the net for a 4-3 advantage.

CHI: 4, FLA: 4

3rd - 7:17 - Keith Yandle (Jonathan Huberdeau) - PPG

The first lead didn't last long as Keith Yandle netted his second in as many games just 71 seconds later. Off a back-and-forth play with Jonathan Huberdeau, the defenseman put a one-timer from the point past Lankinen to tie the game, 4-4.

CHI: 4, FLA: 5

OT - Frank Vatrano

After picking up the first point of the season deadlocked after 60 minutes, the Blackhawks headed to OT for the first time on the year against the Panthers. Lankinen made a massive stop on a 3-on-1 in the opening 90 seconds of the extra frame, but couldn't make it 2-for-2 as the Panthers took the game on a rush a few minutes later off the stick of Frank Vatrano.