CHICAGO – The 2024 Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers made their one visit to the United Center on Thursday night. With the game being on ESPN+ for the whole country to see, there was some extra buzz in the building.
After struggling to win (and score goals) in November, Chicago needed a win in the worst way. Not many assumed that the Stanley Cup champs would give it to them but that’s the reality. The four-game losing streak is now over following the 3-1 victory.
Early in the first period, the Hawks were awarded a power play. Teuvo Teravainen scored one day after making comments about how low his confidence was. Nobody on the team needed a tally more than him.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Alex Vlasic earned the assists on the power play goal. Bertuzzi was trying to score but the puck popped out to Teravainen who didn’t miss with the rebound. Getting up early on a team like Florida is almost a must.
In the second period, Craig Smith was sprung on a breakaway by Patrick Maroon and he scored a brilliant goal. Getting goals from depth lines is important because the entire load can’t all be on the top guys.
Smith’s role on the team is to be a responsible forward in the bottom six. However, his silky smooth hands were on display for this play. Maroon also displayed incredible hockey IQ to find the streaking Smith. Nick Foligno collected the secondary assist on this one.
Less than a minute after going up 2-0, Florida scored to cut the lead in half. It was Sam Reinhart who scored his league-leading (tied with Alexander Ovechkin) 15th of the season. After that, the Panthers kicked it into another gear.
Despite pressure from Florida, the Hawks were able to find an empty net goal at 19:00 to seal the victory. It was Nick Foligno doing what captains do best and putting the team on his back. The players and coaching staff were feeling good after this one.
The Florida Panthers have been the Eastern Conference Champions in each of the last two seasons. In both years, they came to the United Center and lost during the regular season. This makes it three straight visits to Chicago with a defeat for Florida.
Petr Mrazek is the First Star of the Game for the Hawks. He kept them in it all night. When the Panthers made it 2-1, Mrazek did everything he could to end up on the winning side. He was key in helping them withstand the onslaught that Florida brought in the second half of the game.
Making 15 saves on 15 shots in the third period is the highlight of his night. He made 32 saves on 33 total shots in the game. The Hawks were outshot 33-20 and still found a way to win so there is no denying who the best player was.
During his postgame presser, head coach Luke Richardson said that Mrazek was their best penalty killer which is a compliment of the highest order for a goalie.
The Blackhawks only had to kill two minors but one of them came in the final minutes of the game and Mrazek was sensational. Florida pushed hard but was unable to get it tied. The whole PK unit should also be proud.
Now, the Hawks have a big win over an elite team to build on. They are going to hit the road for one game with a Saturday matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers. If they play the Flyers the way they played the Panthers, they can beat them.
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