Brandon Montour scored with 2:17 left in overtime as the Florida Panthers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3, on Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Montour swatted a bouncing puck with a backhander, getting the puck past Petr Mrazek’s pads. Aleksander Barkov got the primary assist.
The Panthers were held scoreless for 48-plus minutes until Matthew Tkachuk assisted on three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead.
However, Chicago removed Mrazek for an extra attacker and scored on Cole Gutttman’s goal with 45 seconds left, forcing overtime.
Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen also scored for the Panthers, who won their third straight game for the first time since Feb. 9, matching their longest winning streak of the season.
Chicago, which also got goals from Caleb Jones and Boris Katchouk, went 0-for-6 on its power play as the Blackhawks lost for the sixth time in their past seven games.
Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves, improving his record to 21-17-2.
Mrazek, who appeared to be on track for his first shutout since he played for the Carolina Hurricanes nearly two years ago (April 4, 2021), made 39 saves. Instead, he has lost four straight games.
Chicago, which has 50 points, tied for the worst in the Western Conference, led 2-0 after the first period.
The Blackhawks opened the scoring with an odd-man rush that ended with Jones finding the back of the net from the left circle on a pass from Taylor Raddysh. Jones’ shot beat Bobrovsky glove side with 6:49 expired in the period.
Katchouk made it 2-0 with 2:07 remaining in the first as Chicago’s fourth line created on the rush. Joey Anderson fed ahead, and Katchouk was there to redirect the puck past Bobrovsky.
After a scoreless second period, Florida tied the score with two goals in 29 seconds in the third.
First, with 11:31 left, Tkachuk gained possession from behind Chicago’s net and fed Bennett, who scored from point-blank range.
Then, Reinhart deflected a shot by Tkachuk to tie the score.
Finally, with 7:18 left in the third, Florida took the lead as Luostarinen — again on a pass from Tkachuk — scored on a top-shelf shot from the slot.
Chicago, however, tied scored on Guttman’s rebound goal. Jujhar Khaira’s initial shot was saved by Bobrovsky, but Guttman scored on a mad scramble in front.
–Field Level Media
