SUNRISE - Sandis Vilmanis, a 22-year-old Latvian rookie who entered Wednesday with just one goal and two assists in 14 games this season, delivered a four-point breakout performance on Star Wars Night at Amerant Bank Arena, leading the Florida Panthers to a 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Vilmanis scored twice and assisted on two more goals, becoming just the third rookie in franchise history to record two goals and four points in a single game, joining Jonathan Huberdeau in 2013 and Jesse Belanger in 1994, Florida Hockey Now reported. The win pushed the Panthers to seven wins in their last 10 games after dropping their previous contest to the Detroit Red Wings.
“It’s a special night, special night that I will remember for sure,” Vilmanis said postgame. “Especially thanks to the guys - that just kept me going.”
Vilmanis opened the scoring at the 4:43 mark of the first period, tucking in a cross-crease rush pass for his second goal of the season. He then set up Seth Jones for Florida’s third goal midway through the second period with a sharp cross-ice feed. With the Panthers clinging to a 3-2 lead in the third, Vilmanis rifled a shot short-side past Spencer Knight - the goaltender Florida traded away to acquire Jones in 2025 - to push the lead to 4-2. He finished the night by chipping a puck out of the defensive zone to Sam Reinhart, who sealed the game with an empty-net goal at 18:33 of the third.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said he kept Vilmanis on the ice late not to chase a hat trick but because the line was simply his best. “I didn’t put him on the ice with the goalie out for that idea,” Maurice said. “I just thought that line was our best, and I wouldn’t have been surprised at all [if Vilmanis scored]. But he made the right play … taking it up the wall instead of trying to do it.”
Maurice credited the veteran forwards flanking Vilmanis - Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe - for the rookie’s development. “Credit to those two veteran players for really working with him,” Maurice said. “They’ve been very positive with him, encouraging - but also teaching [him].”
Reinhart echoed that assessment. “Ever since we got with him, it’s been pretty great to see kind of the change in his game,” Reinhart said. “Just a little bit of confidence goes a long way. Especially when you’re kind of fresh in the league. Nothing but positive things to say about him.”
Vilmanis said his path to this moment ran through a 19-game NHL stint in January of the injury-riddled 2025-26 season, followed by strong showings at the 2026 Winter Olympics and World Championship with Team Latvia. “I’ve just been building my game since then,” he said. “[I’m] just trying to do my best on the ice and help the team win.” He added: “It’s a really big veteran team here, but they still welcome me like I’m one of them, and that just really helps.”
Reinhart had his own milestone night, recording his 202nd assist with the Panthers to pass Keith Yandle for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time list. His empty-net goal tied Jonathan Huberdeau at 198 for second in Panthers history in that category, and his three-point night made him the fastest player to 400 career points in Panthers history, reaching the mark in 401 games - besting the previous record set by Aleksander Barkov at 465 games.
Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, his 43rd career multi-point period with the Panthers, one more than Reinhart for fifth-most in franchise history. Barkov leads that list with 100. Jacob Markstrom stopped 18 shots in net for Florida. Defenseman Niko Mikkola left the game in the third period with an undisclosed injury but returned for a single shift, and Maurice said afterward that Mikkola was OK.
For Chicago, Frank Nazar scored twice and was named the game’s third star. Jones, acquired from the Blackhawks in 2025 in the trade that sent Knight to Chicago, has 19 points on three goals in his first 16 games of the season.
The Panthers travel to Washington on Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. faceoff at Capital One Arena, the first of three road games. Florida then hosts the Boston Bruins on Sunday at 1 p.m.