RECAP: Panthers 5, Blackhawks 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – It’s not how you start, but how you finish.

Despite surrendering a goal in the opening seconds, the Florida Panthers stormed back to secure a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Improving to 31-19-3, the Panthers remain in first place in the Atlantic Division.

“Sometimes it gets you out of wading into the game,” head coach Paul Maurice said of falling behind early. “A strong first period, and then pretty consistent from start to finish.”

Making history in victory, Maurice recorded the 900^th win of his career.

In the history of the NHL, only three other coaches have reached that lofty number.

“It means you’re old,” said Maurice, who’s gone 125-75-17 with the Panthers. “It means you’re fortunate, for sure, and that you’ve coached a lot of really good players.”

Putting the Blackhawks on top just seven seconds into the first period, Landon Slaggert slipped the puck through Sergei Bobrovsky’s five-hole on a breakaway to make it 1-0.

From there, the Panthers exerted some unrelenting pressure.

Out of action since Dec. 20 due to an injury, Jonah Gadjovich turned that pressure into a point when he crashed the net and sent the puck past Petr Mrazek to make it 1-1 at 5:28.

With an assist, Niko Mikkola matched his career high with is 17^th point of the season.

“It was huge,” Gadjovich said of making an impact in his return. “I’ve just been putting the work in behind the scenes, just working to get back out there for a game. Being with the boys and battling, it was just fun to get back out there.”

Giving the Panthers the lead, Aleksander Barkov found Sam Reinhart for a nifty backdoor tap-in from the left side of the net with a perfect cross-ice feed to make it 2-1 at 10:19.

With the goal, Reinhart earned his fourth straight 30-goal season with the Panthers.

A dominant start, the Panthers led 27-5 in scoring chances in the first period.

“I really liked our first period,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “It was a battle all night. We were just kinda trying to focus on what we do out there, trying to stick with our game.”

In the second period, the Blackhawks made their push.

Thankfully, Bobrovsky was there to stifle any would-be comeback attempt.

Facing 12 shots in the period, No. 72 turned aside every single one of them.

“There’s a different flow all the time,” Bobrovsky said. “Every game, you face a different flow. You just try and stay focused and be ready.”

Giving the Panthers some breathing room before the second intermission, Matthew Tkachuk went to the net and tipped in a slot shot from Reinhart to make it 3-1 at 16:29.

Taking a page out of Chicago’s book from the first period, the Panthers padded their lead just 10 seconds into the third when Evan Rodrigues took a dish from Anton Lundell and ripped a shot past Mrazek from the bottom of the right circle to make it 4-1.

On the power play, the Panthers kept the red light flashing when Verhaeghe went to the net and deposited a sweet pass from Reinhart off the rush to make it 5-1 at 9:37.

In the end, the Panthers finished with a 46-22 edge in scoring chances.

Getting to the net, they also led 24-7 in high-danger shot attempts.

“Our analytics are really strong here in the last month,” Maurice said. “I don’t think we’ve had enough wins to kind of celebrate the quality of our play, which I like even more. You get on runs when you’re playing well and it disappears, but if you can go a month and move as five really well, defend as five, and you stay with it, then I think you get to keep it longer.”

THEY SAID IT

“We like where our game’s at. We’re trying to build something here and get to our identity. The last couple weeks, we’ve been playing well.” – Carter Verhaeghe

“They were real happy for me [to score]. You love to skate by and see all the smiles. I think that’s just the group that we have here. It’s a lot of laughs, a lot of smiles, and we have a good time when we come to the rink.” – Jonah Gadjovich

CATS STATS

- Sam Reinhart is the second player to record four 30-goal seasons with the Panthers.

- The Panthers fired 22 shots in the first period, their most in the first since Nov. 15, 2022.

- Aleksander Barkov recorded the 200^th multi-point game of his career.

- Niko Mikkola skated in his 300^th career NHL game.

- Ten different Panthers recorded at least one point.

- A.J. Greer logged a team-high six hits.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Another back-to-back?

You bet!

Back on the ice in just over 24 hours, the Panthers will close out their homestand with a matchup against the New York Islanders at Amerant Bank Arena at 6 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.