THREE THINGS: Kuby Clappers, Goalie Trio and Waiting Game

It was another step forward for the Blackhawks on Tuesday night, but ultimately the team came up short in overtime against the Panthers, 5-4 -- picking up the first point of the season in the extra frame before heading home to Chicago after a 0-3-1 start to the year in the Sunshine State.
"It's hard to talk about it," Dominik Kubalik said. "Obviously we wanted to win, but at least we have a point. I think the work ethic was pretty good today. It felt like we did lots of good things. Finally got some goals, too. Just sad that we didn't make it to the win."

CHI at FLA
GAMECENTER: CHI at FLA
RECAP: Blackhawks Earn First Point, Fall to Panthers in OT
GALLERY: Blackhawks at Panthers
Kubalik led the Blackhawks on the night with a pair of power-play goals and an assist, while Patrick Kane scored yet another highlight-reel tally and Philipp Kurashev scored his first NHL goal. Kevin Lankinen made his NHL debut and made 23 stops in the loss.
"I thought particularly the last two periods we played hard. We reached a better level of desperation and pressure on the puck and the details of our game were improved," head coach Jeremy Colliton said afterwards. "Still lots of work to do and tighten up some areas, no question, but I thought we competed hard and battled back and power play scored again, so that was big.
"A lot of good performances from guys. Would love to see us get rewarded with two points, would've been a nice way to go home, but the focus still remains on getting better. It was probably our best effort and we've got to continue to go that direction."

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's OT loss in South Florida:

KUBY CLAPPERS

In the two previous games, it was the Alex DeBrincat show on the man advantage, converting one-timers from the left-side dot on the top power-play unit for the Blackhawks. On Tuesday, though, it quickly became the Dominik Kubalik show on the opposite circle, with the reigning rookie goal leader netting his first two goals of the season on the man advantage.
"It feels good to get the goals and get the confidence back a little bit," he said after the game. "I'm happy that we could help the team a little bit."
Both tallies came in nearly identical style, a one-time blast from the top of the right circle that eluded Sergei Bobrovsky in goal (the first after blistering through a Panthers defenseman in front).

It wasn't just the two goals, through, that showcased Kubalik's danger on the man advantage. Before the first tally, the winger had two other one-time attempts that didn't find twine on what Colliton describes the 'shooting' power play unit. It's clear that a lot of the focus will be finding the big shot of the sophomore Czech.
"I think Duncs make a pretty good play two times there, especially when he kind of faked a shot to put those penalty killers a little bit together and open up the back side for me," he described of the unit's success. "I feel like that's kind of my wheelhouse, but just happy to score, happy that the power play was going pretty well. Really happy that it worked out this time."
"I thought our power play was a big part of us battling back in the game. He's a big weapon there," Colliton said. "I thought he was good again, (even) 5-on-5… he was impactful and could've had more probably."
The forward is no stranger to scoring in bunches, already with six multi-goal games in just 72 NHL games -- accounting for 13 of his now 32 NHL tallies (40%) in those outings.

GOALIE TRIO

The message all offseason has been that the Blackhawks would look to test all three of their top-level goalies -- Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban -- this season. Just four games into the year, it rings true, each having a start to his name after the opening week.
On Tuesday, it was Lankinen making his NHL debut for the Blackhawks, allowing five goals on the night -- the fourth time Chicago has allowed five this season -- but the undrafted netminder showed why the organization has been his on his ceiling just as much as the other two goalies with NHL games to their names.
"Lanks made some big saves," Colliton said after the debut. "Five goals, you don't want to give up that many, but he made some saves for us, timely saves."
"I was excited," Lankinen said. "I've been working extremely hard for this moment and I was able to enjoy the day, enjoy the game and put my best foot forward out there. I was happy with that. Am I happy with the outcome? Obviously not, but I think there's a lot to build on. I felt pretty comfortable when the game went on."
In holding true with the script of the opening four games, despite the five-spot on the scoreboard, Lankinen had several key stops on the night -- just like Delia and Subban before him. None proved bigger than a 3-on-1 snag with the glove in overtime that kept the game alive after the Blackhawks got caught up ice.

He nearly doubled down on the effort, too, coming within inches of a post-to-post snag on the game-winner as well.
"Always those are the parts of the game where it's clutch moments," Lankinen said. "Either it goes in or you give your team the chance to go the other way. I think that throughout my career, I've been able to make those big saves in the big moments. Obviously I would've like to have that last one also, but I did my best. The save in the overtime was definitely one of the better saves tonight."

WAITING GAME

Brandon Hagel was making a name for himself over the back half of the 2019-20 season, leading the AHL's Rockford IceHogs in scoring and earning the honor of seemingly first-choice recall by the end of the year anytime the NHL squad needed a forward body. He took warmups with the team ahead of several games, biding his time for his NHL debut when his time came.
Finally, on March 11, 2020, Hagel's number was called. He skated a strong debut that night against the San Jose Sharks, but it couldn't be further from the focus by the time the final buzzer went off. The next day, the NHL suspended its season as the COVID-19 pandemic took over the country.
"I think it was a great experience for him to get in that game. He knows what it is to play in the league. Before that, he was up multiple times kind of as the extra, he warmed up -- I think that was good for him to just be with the group," Colliton said of Hagel's journey. "Even now, he was with us in the summer, during the playoffs, he's been with us since the beginning of the season here. We've had a couple discussions about him just relaxing on the ice during practice and not being so nervous and I think as a young player a lot of times, that gets in the way, just feeling like you're an imposter. Hopefully he's as prepared as he can be… We like his game. We like what he brings."
In his second outing, the winger showed that comfort level in just 10:39 of ice time and a noticeable energy in his role as a fourth-line winger.
"I thought he was really good," Colliton said. "Made a lot of plays, looked confident with the puck, got his nose dirty, won 50-50s -- that's what you're looking for in a young guy coming in and the style of play that he needs to have to be good. Good performance by him."