5 Takeaways: Panthers Lose Barkov, Fall to Blackhawks

The Panthers were behind the eight ball before the puck even dropped tonight.
With Aleksander Barkov scratched due to a lower-body injury after taking a couple of laps during warmups, the Panthers still managed to put forth a strong effort in the absence of their captain, but unfortunately came up short in a 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks at United Center on Tuesday.

"You lose a key guy, but it's a good test on the whole group there," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "Certainly, the impact he has on the team was noticeable there. We started to get our way as the game progressed, more so later in the third, but it was a tough, tough start."
As of right now, Barkov is considered day-to-day.
"We'll know more tomorrow," Quenneville said.
Taking advantage of Barkov's absence, the Blackhawks struck first in their barn.
After forcing a turnover in the neutral zone, Brandon Hagel skated across the blue line before connecting on a cross-ice pass with Dominik Kubalik, who then sent a shot right through Chris Driedger's five-hole as he slid across the crease to make it 1-0 at 6:24 of the opening period.
Doubling the lead later in the first, Pius Suter re-directed a long shot from Nikita Zadorov past Driedger to make it 2-0 at 18:30. Then, just 4:22 into the second stanza, Patrick Kane set up Carl Soderberg for a tip-in goal on the power play to send the Panthers into a difficult 3-0 hole.
"It was tough to start the game the way we did," Quenneville said. "It was tough to watch."
Finally cutting into the mounting deficit, Anton Stralman got the Panthers on the board when he took an outstanding pass from Noel Acciari through the slot - a dish worthy of a few extra looks if you have the time - and beat from Kevin Lankinen with shot to make it a 3-1 contest at 8:53.
Driedger finished with 29 saves, while Lankinen racked up 33 of his own.
In desperate need of goal with just around five minutes left in the game, Quenneville pulled the goaltender in favor of the extra attacker while the Panthers were on the power play. With the 6-on-4 advantage paying off, Alex Wennberg scored to make it 3-2 at 15:22 of the third period.
Despite a few more chances later on, Chicago held on for its first win of the season over Florida.
"I think we just had a bit of a slow start and kind of dug ourselves a bit of a hole," Acciari said. "I liked our end of the second [period] and most of the third. We didn't give up. We played until the buzzer. I think we've got to figure out how to come out with a stronger start."
Following tonight's loss, the Panthers (20-8-4) won't have to wait long for a chance at revenge.
Wrapping up a two-game series, they'll see the Blackhawks (15-13-5) again on Thursday.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's loss in Chicago…

1. STRALMAN SCORES

All Stralman had to do was pull the trigger on this one.
After pulling the puck to his backhand and catching a defender off guard, Acciari lifted the puck through the slot and right onto the stick of Stralman, who then fired a quick shot past Lankinen and into the back of the cage to trim Chicago's lead down to 3-1 at 8:53 of the second period.

"He kinda looked like Barky there on that play," Stralman said of Acciari's pass.
Spending the majority of the season sharing the blue line with Keith Yandle, Stralman has posted nine points (two goals, six assists) through 28 games. In addition to his point total, the 34-year-old rearguard has posted 27 hits and 20 blocked shots while skating 19:17 per game.

2. BIG SHOES TO FILL

With the Panthers missing a big piece down the middle, Acciari stepped up.
Starting the game in Barkov's spot centering the top line, the tough-as-nails forward went on to record the primary assist on both of Florida's goals. Skating a season-high 19:48 of ice time, he also chipped in two hits and three shots on goal. Overall, you couldn't have asked much more.
Watching the game, it's easy to see why Coach Q describes Acciari as a "heart and soul" guy.
"You can't replace that guy," Acciari said of Barkov. "He's very valuable to us. We definitely missed him out there. Whether it's first, second, third or fourth [lines], I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team."

3. OFF THE SKATE

It didn't change the result, but this goal kept things interesting until the end.
With the Panthers pulling their goaltender in favor of a 6-on-4 power play late in the third period, Wennberg deftly kicked a re-directed shot from Acciari off his skate and up onto his stick before tucking the puck past Lankinen and across the goal line to cut Florida's deficit to 3-2 at 15:22.

His seventh goal of the season, Wennberg continues to provide the Panthers with secondary scoring from the second line. Over his last five games, he's tallied two goals and two assists. Skating 19:37 against Chicago, he also helped out defensively with two blocks and takeaways.

4. LANKINEN'S SHARP

Lankinen finally got the better of the Panthers.
Entering the game with an 0-2-1 record and .869 save percentage in three starts against Florida this season, the 25-year-old rookie goaltender was sharp from start to finish tonight, stopping 33 of 35 shots to help the Blackhawks break out their four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory.
"He was good all night," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said.
Of Lankinen's 33 saves, none were bigger than his incredible stop on Aaron Ekblad just around the midway point of the third period. Unable to get to his feet, the young Blackhawks goaltender simply laid out and stacked the pads to kick Ekblad's dangerous shot up and out of harm's way.
To watch the save, check out the tweet below.

5. GETTING BACK IN

The Cats had two familiar faces get back into the lineup tonight.
With Barkov banged up and Eetu Luostarinen having been assigned to the taxi squad earlier in the day, Brett Connolly, who last took the ice on Feb. 27, and Vinnie Hinostroza, who hadn't played in a game since March 4, both took the ice for the Panthers against the Blackhawks.
Moving up and down the lineup quite a bit as Quenneville made adjustments throughout the game, Connolly ended up skating 11:10, firing off one shot on goal while leading Florida's forwards with five hits. Hinostroza, meanwhile, notched two shots on goal over 10:35 of ice time.
"I thought they got better as the game went on," Quenneville said. "I thought they both played alright."
Always ready, Hinostroza didn't get the news he'd be playing until close to game time.
"Vinnie was right out of the morning skate where he had the extra work and then coming on the late bus," Quenneville said. "He got thrown into action. I thought he did a comparable job of doing what he needed to do and giving us a chance."