RECAP: Panthers 4, Blackhawks 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – Sam Reinhart notched two goals and two assists to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 win over the Chiago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday.

Helping the Panthers improve to 9-4-1 and grab hold of a playoff spot early this season, the red-hot Reinhart currently leads both the team and the NHL with nine multi-point performances.

“He’s one of those guys that’s really stepped up,” said forward Sam Bennett, who returned to the lineup after missing the last five games with an injury. “He’s part of the reason why our team is doing so well right now. Another big game from him. I’m sure he’s going to keep it rolling.”

Heading out of the tunnel with a collective head full of steam, the Panthers lit the lamp just 39 seconds into the first period when Oliver Ekman-Larsson finished off a nifty tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues to make it a 1-0 game in the blink of an eye.

After coming out slow in Chicago last week, the early strike was just what the team wanted.

“We wanted to come out a little bit better here,” Ekman-Larsson said. “I thought we did that. It was kind of a weird game. I don’t think they had a lot of chances, but they found a way to stick around and put the puck in our net. We can clean that up, but overall we played a good game.”

Answering for the Blackhawks, Jason Dickinson evened the score when he managed to squeak the puck through Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads from on top of the blue paint to make it 1-1 at 7:04.

Pouring some more gasoline on his incendiary start to the season, Reinhart netted his team-leading 10^th goal of the campaign and put the Panthers back on top when he tipped a point shot from Matthew Tkachuk right past Arvid Soderblom on the power play to make it 2-1 at 11:54.

“He’s such a smart player,” Ekman-Larsson said. “He’s made everybody that he plays with so much better, too. I think he’s just a smart guy. He’s got a lot of good hockey sense.”

Netting his third goal in the last two games, rookie phenom Connor Bedard got that goal back for the Blackhawks right before intermission when he swiped a puck in the offensive zone and roofed a shot over Bobrovsky’s left shoulder and into the top of the net to make it 2-2 at 19:04.

Picking up his third point of the game and 11^th goal of the season, Reinhart briefly regained the lead for the Panthers and showed off his elite hockey IQ in the second period when he banked a shot off Soderblom and into the cage from behind the goal line to make it 3-2 at the 7-minute mark.

Finding his own second goal, Bedard made it 3-3 when he connected on a far-side snipe at 8:18.

Later in the period, Dmitry Kulikov crushed Bedard along the boards with a huge clean hit. Stepping up for the team’s 18-year-old budding star, veteran Nick Foligno immediately went after Kulikov. The Panthers earned a four-minute power play, but were unable to capitalize on it.

But after getting those reps, they made sure to make their next man advantage count.

Earning a key power play in the third period, the Panthers broke the tie when Reinhart pounced on a rebound after a shot from Tkachuk and sent the puck through the crease right onto the stick of Carter Verhaeghe for a tap-in goal from the left side of the net to make it 4-3 at 2:44.

With Bobrovsky stopping all 13 shots he faced in the period, that’s all the Panthers would need.

Stellar on special teams, Florida finished 2/4 on the power play and 3/3 on the penalty kill.

“The special teams, I don’t think we’ve had a night where it’s probably just special teams at the end,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We couldn’t finish in the 5-on-5 department, but our penalty kill was outstanding and we got two on the on the power play. Those guys need that feeling coming off the ice that they were the difference in the game, and they haven’t had that in tandem together. That was the most important thing for us.”

THEY SAID IT

“That’s just his game. He’s got this great balance of intensity and then other times just thinking his way and finding holes. He’s got such great hands around the net. I’m happy for him. He’s worked hard to get himself to that point.” – Paul Maurice on Sam Reinhart’s four-point game

“It felt great. You really do miss the game when you’re out and rehabbing for so long. It felt great to be back out there and get a win tonight. It makes you really appreciate the game when you’re out. I enjoyed playing tonight.” – Sam Bennett on returning from his lower-body injury

“I’m obviously playing with some pretty good players. The puck has got to go there eventually. I find it the easiest spot to score goals. I think it’s a combination of those two things.” – Sam Reinhart on his knack for scoring goals around the net

“We play the same way every single night and every single game. I think that’s a strength of our group. Even if we let in a goal we just keep going. Everybody’s chipping in. It’s a lot of fun to play that way.” – Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the team’s early-season success

CATS STATS

- Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the fifth fastest opening goal by a D-man in franchise history.

- Sam Reinhart matched a franchise record by hitting the 20-point mark in just 14 games.

- Sergei Bobrovsky extended his personal winning streak to five games.

- Aleksander Barkov went 14 for 18 (77.8%) in the faceoff circle.

- Florida has gone 6-for-6 on the penalty kill over the last two games.

- The Panthers led 27-10 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

- Florida owned 81.82% of shot attempts when Barkov was on the ice at 5-on-5.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s time for some California dreaming.

Taking their winning streak on the road, the Panthers will open up a three-game trek through the Golden State with a matchup against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Who's staying up late?