CHICAGO – Lars Eller provided the heroics and scored with 2:23 left in regulation to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Sunday.
Snapping out of a two-game dip, the Panthers now sit at 6-4-2.
"It was a hard-fought game,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “A lot of penalties kind of threw off our flow, but the penalty kill was great. It was a much-needed win on this road trip."
With the puck bouncing all over the place in the offensive zone, Ryan Greene opened the scoring for the Blackhawks when he whacked the wayward biscuit past Panthers goalie Akira Schmid from just outside of the blue paint to make it 1-0 at 2:34 of the first period.
Back in the lineup with two new linemates after being scratched last game, Panthers rookie Sandis Vilmanis turned his respite into results right away, finding a rebound just outside of the crease and lifting it right over Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight to make it 1-1 at 6:49.
“I thought he was fast,” Maurice said of Vilmanis’ productive return. “He touched the puck and he started to skate, and then the game opened up. Playing with Sam Reinhart, it's probably a treat for him. He can play off people so very, very well and is very encouraging.”
After a few successful penalty kills in the first period – including surviving 53 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage for the Blackhawks – the Panthers cashed in on their first trip to the power play, with Jones banking a shot off Matthew Tkachuk and in to make it 2-1 at 14:21.
A dominant start, Florida led 13-1 in shots on goal at 5-on-5 in the first period.
“We started to look at fast offensively again,” Maurice said of the opening 20 minutes. “We got on the forecheck, we spent some time and we got more pucks to the net from the slot than we have possibly all year. So, still not quite there, but a step in the right direction.”
Early in the second period, the Panthers found themselves back on the penalty kill.
But despite a dangerous four-minute advantage for the Blackhawks after a high stick drew blood, the Panthers stood their ground and ended up surrendering just one shot on goal.
Finishing the game 7-fo-7 on the penalty kill, Florida has gone 26-for-27 since Oct. 13.
“I think we're just in sync,” Eller said of the team’s success when down a man this season. “All four players, we know the game plan. We trust each other. Everybody knows what each other's doing and everybody's willing to block shots. At the same time, your goalie has got to be probably your best penalty killer, and he was really good today.”
Netting the equalizer after a sustained shift for the Blackhawks, rookie forward Roman Kantserov beat Schmid with a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 2-2 at 11:15.
With under six minutes remaining in regulation and the game still deadlocked, Schmid came up with his biggest save of the game when he denied Cole Smith on a breakaway.
After the initial stop, Schmid also stoned Smith's follow-up attempt.
