Barkov scores twice in Panthers win against Blackhawks

SUNRISE, Fla. --Aleksander Barkov scored twice for the Florida Panthers in a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at BB&T Center on Saturday.

Anthony Duclair had two assists after missing six games with a lower-body injury, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for the Panthers (18-5-4), who have won five of their past six games.
"Yeah, it was great to come back," Duclair said. "Obviously, you never like to be injured and be out and watch the boys from the press box, but just happy to be back and playing with these guys and getting some wins."

Brandon Hagel scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves for the Blackhawks (14-10-5), who have lost three of their past four games.
Chicago and Florida will complete the two-game set here Monday.
"I still think it's positive in here," Hagel said. "Teams are going to have that throughout the year, every team does from good teams to bad teams. Every team goes through these stretches. We still have confidence in here. We know we're a good hockey team. Just regroup, get back to it and get back to the way we know how to play and good things will happen."
Hagel scored 28 seconds into the second period on a give-and-go with Dominik Kubalik to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
Barkov tied it 1-1 at 7:46 on his rebound after Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith couldn't clear the puck out of the zone.
"I mean, he's elite," Duclair said of Barkov. "He's one of the best centermen in the League, probably one of the best two-way forwards I've ever played with. [He's] just so skilled, so talented and just very happy to be playing with him, obviously. Me and Carter [Verhaeghe], we just try to do our best to help him out in any situation, and just very happy that we found some chemistry early on in the season and it keeps going right now."
Duclair, who had the primary assist on the play, began the game on the fourth line before being reunited on the top line with Barkov and Verhaeghe.
"[Duclair] had good speed in that first period there," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't want to change the lines, but I wanted to get him back to the lineup and he earned that opportunity based on how he was skating. … They all played a part in all the goals that they scored. Nice to see they get reunited and have a big night as well. So it was a good to have him back, and I thought that his speed was very dangerous."

Verhaeghe gave Florida a 2-1 lead at 11:00 with a shot that deflected off the stick of Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat, and Frank Vatrano made it 3-1 at 12:19 with a one-timer off Owen Tippett's backhand pass from behind the net.
Barkov extended the lead to 4-1 at 10:01 of the third period.
"That line was tough to handle all night," Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Whoever was the third guy there was strong on the puck and tough to defend, took the puck to the net, beat us to the net. They were a big difference in the game."
Adam Boqvist cut it to 4-2 at 18:28 on a one-timer from the point.
Chicago, which entered the game third in the NHL on the power play at 31 percent, was 0-for-4. Bobrovsky made eight of his 30 saves with Florida shorthanded, including a one-timer from Patrick Kane from low in the right circle at 10:30 of the first period.
"I thought he was very quick and on the open side all of a sudden he closed it quick," Quenneville said. "He's finding pucks. He looked really solid, really sharp. He continued to do what he has to do, and that's be consistent because it's a chance to win every night."
NOTES: Barkov, Verhaeghe and Vatrano each scored his 10th goal of the season for the Panthers, who are the first team in the NHL this season to have five players with at least 10 goals. Patric Hornqvist (11) and Jonathan Huberdeau (10) are the others. … Florida tied its record for fewest games needed to reach 40 points (also 27 games in 1996-97). … Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman was minus-2 in 17:33 of ice time in his return after missing four games with a lower-body injury.