It was the forward’s first multipoint game in the NHL.
Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists, and Carter Verhaeghe added a goal and an assist for the Panthers (9-5-2), who have won four of their past five games. Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves.
Frank Nazar scored twice for the Blackhawks (4-11-1) who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and seven of their past eight (1-6-1). Connor Bedard and Ethan Del Mastro each had two assists, and Spencer Knight made 25 saves.
Vilmanis gave Florida a 1-0 lead on the rush at 4:43 of the first period after Reinhart found him at the back door from the right face-off circle.
Verhaeghe made it 2-0 on the power play at 12:29. Matthew Tkachuk fed brother Brady Tkachuk down low on the right side, and Brady sent a between-the-skates pass to Verhaeghe, who went high on Knight at the back post.
Jones scored on his former team for a 3-0 lead at 13:20 of the second period when he put a wrist shot under Knight’s pad from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Vilmanis.
Roman Kantserov cut it to 3-1 at 16:48. Bedard started the play by winning a puck battle against Lars Eller along the left boards and passed to Del Mastro down the left wing. Del Mastro sent the puck on net from a sharp angle, and it went off the skate of Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling before Kantserov poked it in off of Markstrom’s right arm.
Nazar then pulled Chicago within 3-2 on a short-handed breakaway at 9:31 of the third period, scoring with a backhand over Markstrom’s right pad.
Vilmanis restored Florida’s two-goal lead by making it 4-2 at 11:01. After Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola’s point shot was blocked by Ian Cole, Verhaeghe stole the puck from Cole at the left hash marks, and Vilmanis got to the loose puck in the left circle and scored under Knight’s right arm.
Nazar’s second goal of the game made it 4-3 at 16:09. He scored with a wrist shot from the right point to the far side.
Reinhart scored into an empty net at 18:33 for the 5-3 final.
