CHICAGO - The Florida Panthers snapped a two-game road skid Sunday afternoon, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Lars Eller’s first goal as a member of the club, ending a stretch in which Florida had been outscored 9-1 in its previous two games on the trip.
Eller’s winner came with 2:23 remaining in the third period, set up by Aaron Ekblad, who retrieved the puck in the defensive zone, spotted Eller alone at the opposite blue line during a Blackhawks line change, and fed him a pass that Eller converted with a wrister from the right circle past former Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight.
Sandis Vilmanis, who had been scratched Thursday in Pittsburgh before being moved up to the second line Sunday, scored his first goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1 in the first period, getting the Panthers rolling up ice before knocking in a loose puck on a rebound down low. Seth Jones - traded to the Panthers in 2025 for Spencer Knight - then gave Florida its first lead since the previous Saturday night against Seattle, firing a power-play point shot that Matthew Tkachuk deflected past Knight at 14:21 of the first period.
Chicago tied it at 2-2 on a Roman Kantserov one-timer from the right circle at 11:15 of the second, but the Panthers held from there. Florida shut down the NHL’s worst power play, going a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill despite surrendering two 5-on-3 opportunities of roughly 50 seconds apiece. The Blackhawks finished 0-for-7 with the man advantage.
Akira Schmid earned the win with 20 saves. Knight, facing his former team at United Center, stopped 29 shots in the loss. Jones, who was injured when Florida visited Chicago last season, played his first game at United Center since the 2025 trade, according to Florida Hockey Now.
Matthew and Brady Tkachuk combined on the same goal for the eighth time this season, the most instances by any pair of Panthers teammates. Carter Verhaeghe reached a personal milestone, playing in his 500th NHL game.
The Panthers carry a 58-35-9 all-time regular season disadvantage against the Thrashers and Jets franchises into Tuesday’s road game at Winnipeg, scheduled for 8 p.m. at Canada Life Center. Florida then returns home to host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.