The Chicago Blackhawks returned to the United Center on Thursday night to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. The Hawks were coming off a disappointing 3–2 loss on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks after giving up two goals in the third period. The Hawks started Petr Mrazek in net against the Panthers’ Spencer Knight.
First period
The Hawks received an early power play and Teuvo Teravainen cashed in with his fifth of the season. At the point, Teravainen fed Tyler Bertuzzi, who was camped in front of Knight. Bertuzzi’s stuff attempt was denied but a rebound went right to Teravainen, who drove the net and scored at 2:46 to give Chicago a 1–0 lead.
⏰TURBO TIME⏰ pic.twitter.com/N7G36Uza27
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 22, 2024
The Hawks held that lead through 20 minutes despite being outshot 8–7 and Florida spending most of the period in the offensive zone.
Second period
At the 10:07 mark, three of the Blackhawks’ veterans combined to give the home team a 2–0 lead. It was Nick Foligno to Patrick Maroon to Craig Smith, who skated in alone and went forehand to backhand and roofed one past Knight for his fifth of the season.
a smoooooooth move from Smitty😮💨 pic.twitter.com/cRy3Q6gAzj
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 22, 2024
The Panthers cut the deficit to 2–1 just 34 seconds later. A faceoff win by Florida led to a Sam Reinhart wrist shot past Mrazek for his 15th of the season at 10:41. The Hawks would take the one-goal lead into the locker room after two frames.
Third period
With the Panthers’ net empty, Foligno capitalized on a Carter Verhaeghe turnover and scored his sixth of the season at the 19:00 mark. The Hawks took a 3–1 lead and secured the win by that same score.
Analysis
Just as everyone predicted: the Hawks would lose to the Ducks then defeat the reigning champs. Unlike Tuesday night, the Blackhawks played a strong third period by defending well and getting a few key saves by Mrazek. The Hawks won despite Florida having a decisive edge in zone time, faceoffs (33 of 58) and shots (32–20). The Blackhawks visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. Puck drop is at 12 p.m. CST on CHSN and the NHL Network with the radio call on WGN AM 720.