Blackhawks defeat Panthers in overtime

CHICAGO -- Patrick Kane scored 2:24 into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers at United Center on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks (15-11-5) have won three straight for the first time this season.

"It's huge," Kane said. "It's huge. I think we were all thinking going into this three-game homestand take it one at a time and try to get two points every night, maybe five or six points. It was nice to get six. Good little homestand for us."
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Artem Anisimov won a board battle in the neutral zone and passed the puck to Kane, who beat James Reimer for his 11th goal of the season.
"Great play stripping the guy, just kind of took off when I saw he had the puck," Kane said. "He made a nice play, put it on my tape. I just had to skate into it, you know, pick a corner."
Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist for Chicago, and linemate Alex DeBrincat had two assists. Corey Crawford made 35 saves.

"I think we've had shifts in the last couple games where we're really getting that confidence not only coming out of our own zone with the puck, but in the neutral zone, finding each other with time and space, and the offensive zone of cycling it well and just getting it away from pressure," Toews said.
When you play a lot of games, sometimes you're not going to go out there and beat guys one-on-one and use a ton of speed or a ton of energy. You have to play smart with the puck, and I think the three of us did that for the most part tonight, and our confidence is building, especially that we're seeing pucks go in."
Nick Bjugstad and Jamie McGinn scored for the Panthers (12-14-5), and Reimer made 25 saves.

Toews tied the score at 2-2 when he scored off a backhanded pass from Saad with 6:02 remaining in the third period. It was his third goal in five games.
McGinn scored his sixth career goal against the Blackhawks at 3:53 of the third period to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Vincent Trocheck controlled a loose puck and passed to McGinn, who snapped it past Crawford.
"[Crawford] kept us in the game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We gave up high-quality stuff and here we are still at 2-1 and finding a way to get back into it in the third."
Bjugstad's breakaway goal tied it 1-1 at 11:12 of the second period.
Saad scored his 11th of the season with 3:11 left in the first period to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
"It could go either way," Kane said. "It could be a different feeling in here. I think they hit a crossbar, a couple of chances. I guess we just capitalized on that situation. But nice to get the two points, especially when you're down one in the third. [Toews'] line had a couple of big goals tonight, huge goal to tie it, and it was nice to get the win."

Goal of the game

Toews' goal at 13:58 of the third period.

Save of the game

Crawford's saves on Aaron Ekblad at 1:35 and Trocheck at 1:39 of overtime.

Highlight of the game

Kane's goal at 2:24 of overtime.

They said it

"I think it was a gutsy effort on our part. I thought that we got contributions from the lineup. We all played hard. We played 60 minutes. You know back-to-back is never easy, especially against a team like this." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"Those three games are must-win games, so it was nice to play well late and find ways to win games maybe if we don't play our best hockey, especially in the middle period. I think it gives us confidence that we can find some ways to score late goals, take the lead and come back down a goal late and win in overtime." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews

Need to know

Trocheck extended his point streak to six games with an assist. He has nine points (three goals, six assists) over that span. ... Panthers forward Denis Malgin sustained an upper-body injury on his second shift. Boughner did not provide an update. ... Crawford is 7-0-2 in his past nine starts, and has allowed three goals or fewer in eight. … Blackhawks defenseman Jan Rutta left the game in the second period. Quenneville said he is day to day with an upper-body injury.

What's next

Panthers: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: At the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)