TAKEAWAYS: Blackhawks Secure ‘Bounce Back’ Win Against Panthers

After a brutal loss on Monday, the Chicago Blackhawks bounced back against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night to secure a 5-2 victory for their first home win of the season. 

With all three first line players finding the back of the net, Taylor Hall also notched his first goal of the season in his recent return to the lineup. While it felt nice for him to score, he noted that the lead the team created early in the first period and the win overall made the night even better. 

“It's nice to see a goal go in and check that box off,” Hall said. “The win more importantly, to get a three nothing lead and to play the way we want it to. I would love to see us play with that that jam all night long.”

The Blackhawks started the contest off early with a power play goal from Nick Foligno to start the scoring frenzy. From there, the players continued to build off the strong momentum from not only their teammates but from the energy that filled the United Center. 

As the Blackhawks reached the third period, head coach Luke Richardson noticed the players stuck to the team’s game plan to finish the game out strong.

“I thought we found our game in the third enough to make the right plays in the strong areas and Petr gave us some good goaltending as well with a few big blocks at the end,” Richardson said. “So, I liked the grit at the end, but I liked how our determination and using the energy in this building to start the game.” 

In tonight’s matchup, Petr Mrazek faced a total of 40 shots on goal, which marks the fourth time this season where he faced 40-plus shots. 

For the veteran netminder, he began to face a majority of the shots made by the Panthers later in the first period but found his rhythm with the help of Chicago’s defense. 

“They put a lot of pucks on net today,” Mrazek said. “I just trying to, read a play a little bit, see what's open, but we did a good job there from the defensemen. They took away the far side for me, so I could be a little more aggressive on the short side.”

Throughout the first month of the season, the Blackhawks have won their four games after some tough losses due to a lack of consistency and energy. 

With a week filled with tough practices and some rest to reflect on the defeats, Hall felt it made the team understand how difficult the league can be. Now, they need to learn how to build off the momentum they started to continue to play well. 

“We've done a pretty good job of that so far this year,” Hall said. “Now it's about kind of turning the tide the other way and getting on winning streaks and playing consecutive games where we play well, win or lose, we feel good about our game.”