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Mrazek the difference in Panthers 3-1 loss to lowly Blackhawks

Nov 21, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) plays the puck as Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) defends his goal during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

The Florida Panthers tested veteran goaltender Petr Mrazek 33 times, but could only come up with a single goal in a disappointing 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.

Florida has now lost four of its last five games following a seven-game winning streak.

Teuvo Teravainen gave the Blackhawks an early lead with a power-play goal at 2:46 of the first period, potting the rebound of Tyler Bertuzzi’s shot from down low after it was stopped by Spencer Knight. Alex Vlasic drew the secondary assist on Teravainen’s fifth which came with Niko Mikkola serving an interference penalty.

Chicago doubled its advantage near the midpoint of the second when Nick Foligno headmanned to Pat Maroon and his pass sent Craig Smith in alone on Knight. Smith went to his backhand on the breakaway and he too notched his fifth of the season.

The Panthers would strike back to halve the deficit 34 seconds later. After Aleksander Barkov won an offensive zone draw the Cats would work the puck from the left side to the right before Sam Reinhart slung a wrist shot off the plumbing into the back off the net. All five Panthers touched the puck, with Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling getting the assists at the 10:41 mark.

Unfortunately, that would be it for Florida’s sputtering offense. They put 18 more shots on Mrazek after Reinhart’s goal, but could not solve the journeyman keeper a second time.

Knight did his part, keeping the Blackhawks off the scoreboard during the rest of his stint.

Foligno would complete the scoring with one minute left in regulation when he knocked the puck away from Ekblad and into the empty net after Carter Verhaeghe put the defenseman in a bad spot with an ill-advised pass.

A slow start and lack of finishing power cost the Panthers in this matchup that pitted the worst team in the NHL against the defending Stanley Cup champions. After playing down to its opponent yet again, the Cats woke up after Reinhart’s goal and gave a much better effort over the second half of the contest, but they couldn’t find the equalizer and lost both the game and first place in the Atlantic Division.

Deep Dish

  • With his 15th goal of the season, Sam Reinhart tied Alex Ovechkin for the league-lead and extended his point streak to 12 games. He’ll have a chance to match his career-high on Saturday night when the cold Cats host the Avalanche.
  • Petr Mrazek posted his sixth win, lowering his GAA to 2.66 and upping his save percentage to .911. He is making himself desirable to contenders who might need more goaltending.
  • Aleksander Barkov registered a game-high six shots (tied with Matthew Tkachuk) and won 88.2% of his faceoffs, but saw his nine-game point streak come to an end.
  • Converting on Niko Mikkola’s penalty gave Chicago an early jolt. The Blackhawks are 5-2 this season when they score on the power play and 2-10-1 when they don’t.
  • Spencer Knight fell to 3-3, but he did deliver a quality start, stopping 17 of 19 shots faced.

Talking Points