CHICAGO - Lars Eller scored with 2:23 left in regulation Sunday to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center, snapping a two-game skid and moving Florida to 6-4-2 on the season.
The winning goal capped a resilient performance by a Panthers team that absorbed 15 penalties called across both sides and survived a 5-on-3 Blackhawks power play in the first period. Florida finished 7-for-7 on the penalty kill Sunday and has now killed 26 of 27 penalties since Oct. 13.
“I think we’re just in sync,” Eller said of the penalty kill unit. “All four players, we know the game plan. We trust each other. Everybody knows what each other’s doing and everybody’s willing to block shots. At the same time, your goalie has got to be probably your best penalty killer, and he was really good today.”
Goalie Akira Schmid delivered the game’s pivotal sequence late in the third period, stopping Cole Smith on a breakaway and then stoning Smith’s follow-up attempt with the score deadlocked at 2-2. Eller’s winner came shortly after.
Rookie Sandis Vilmanis, returning to the lineup after being scratched the previous game, opened Florida’s scoring at 6:49 of the first period, finding a rebound just outside the crease and lifting it over Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight to tie the game at 1-1. Defenseman Seth Jones then put the Panthers ahead 2-1 at 14:21, banking a shot off Matthew Tkachuk on the power play. Chicago’s Roman Kantserov tied it 2-2 at 11:15 of the second period on a wrist shot from the right circle.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice praised Vilmanis’s impact after the game. “I thought he was fast,” Maurice said. “He touched the puck and he started to skate, and then the game opened up. Playing with Sam Reinhart, it’s probably a treat for him. He can play off people so very, very well and is very encouraging.”
Florida dominated possession in the opening period, leading 13-1 in shots on goal at 5-on-5. “We started to look at fast offensively again,” Maurice said of the first 20 minutes. “We got on the forecheck, we spent some time and we got more pucks to the net from the slot than we have possibly all year. So, still not quite there, but a step in the right direction.”
Defenseman Seth Jones, whose power-play goal proved the difference through most of regulation, credited the team’s resilience despite the stop-and-start pace. “It was a hard-fought game,” Jones said. “A lot of penalties kind of threw off our flow, but the penalty kill was great. It was a much-needed win on this road trip.”
The Panthers continue their road trip with their next game on the schedule following Sunday’s result.