The Chicago Blackhawks capped off their three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon. All three games were against high-end Eastern Conference teams and the finale was against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
The Panthers are right in the thick of things in terms of being a top NHL team again as they came in leading the Atlantic Division with a 30-19-3 record and 63 points.
Their rise to the top has almost perfectly lined up with the Blackhawks’ fall but Chicago was remarkably 3-1-1 in their last five against Florida. They already had beaten them this season at United Center.
Connor Bedard came into this matchup with three goals in three games against the Panthers in his career including two the last time he played in Sunrise (March 10th, 2024).
Connor Murphy made his return to the lineup from injury, adding more veteran depth which should, in theory, always help when playing a team like the Panthers.
It felt like the good vibes were going to continue for Chicago against the Panthers when Landon Slaggert gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead seven seconds into the match.
Slaggert made a high-effort play to force a breakaway off the opening face-off and he beat Sergei Bobrovsky five-hole. This is confirmed to be the fastest goal in Chicago Blackhawks history.
Those aforementioned good vibes ended right there. The Panthers went on to show exactly why they are the champions and made you wonder how the Blackhawks could have had any success against them lately.
After Slaggert scored that goal to make it 1-0, the Panthers went on to dominate the first period. Florida outshot Chicago 22-4 in the opening frame and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. The Blackhawks were lucky to only be down one.
By the end of the game, however, the Panthers made it five total unanswered goals and they won the game 5-1. It was a dominant performance by Florida. The final shot count ended up being 45-24 in favor of the Panthers.
The Blackhawks have had many bad games this season but this one is up there for the worst. They finish the road trip 1-2-0.
Now, Chicago must regroup and be ready for an elite Edmonton Oilers team as they return home to play on Wednesday night at United Center. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and co. won’t be any more forgiving than these Panthers.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
Related: Ex-Blackhawk Brandon Saad Makes His Way To Golden Knights
