The Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers squared off in the regular season opener in Sunrise, Florida, which was nationally televised, no less (ESPN).
The Panthers had their Stanley Cup Banner-Raising Ceremony, and despite the glitz of the night, both sides opened with some key injuries.
On the Blackhawks side, they were without their top defenseman, Alex Vlasic and forward Landon Slaggert. Meanwhile, the Panthers were also without some of their most valuable players, including Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek.
However, the night also provided some interesting storylines, as it was the first time these two teams faced off since the Seth Jones vs. Spencer Knight megarad in March.
The Panthers emerged victorious in a 3-2 win.
Summary
The game got off to an entertaining start, with plenty of action. Connor Bedard hit the post to almost give the Blackhawks an early lead. Then goaltender Spencer Knight stopped a strange man with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett. The first lead of the game came from a breakaway goal by Frank Nazar to put Chicago up 1–0 with nine minutes left in the period. But a minute later, Florida had the response with a goal from Aj Greer to make it 1-1.
Defenseman Artyom Levshunov had two penalties in the period, and the Blackhawks killed one of them, but the Panthers capitalized on the second with Vergheeghe making it 2-1 2-1 on the power play. To top things off, Nick Foligno and Greer got into a scuffle and Florida’s Anton Lundell hit the post near the end of the first period. Shots were 17-3, Florida. Knight was fantastic.
There was a good rebound response by the Blackhawks in the second period. They tied the match 2-2 from a goal by Teuvo Teräväinen. Ilya Mikheyev also had a breakaway chance that was denied by Sergei Bobrovsky not long before Teräväinen’s goal. The Panthers had a few looks and killed two penalties, but that period was slanted in Chicago’s favor as they outscored the Panthers 11-9.
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In the third period, the Blackhawks had a power-play opportunity after Luke Kunin’s penalty came up empty, and Jesper Boqvist made it 3-2 in a baseball-like goal Because the Panthers not long after, and that was the game-winning goal. The Panthers poured the shots on goal 11-5. Knight stopped quite a few Class A chances, including a Sam Reinhart chance with less than two minutes left in the game.
In the end, it wasn’t a bad effort from Chicago. But the Panthers showed why they are the reigning Stanley Cup champions with the win. They outscored the Hawks 37-19.
What’s next?
The Blackhawks continue their road trip to Boston where they will face the Boston Bruins on October 9. They hope to have Vlasic back for that game. They then return home on October 11 for their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
Meanwhile, the Panthers will continue their homestand for their next two games against the Philadelphia Flyers (October 9) and the Ottawa Senators (October 11).
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