Chicago Blackhawks finally take down the Florida Panthers
The Chicago Blackhawks began the night with a bit of celebration. They didn’t play that well on their road trip but Patrick Kane played in his 1000th career game during it. They came home and honored him with a little bit of a ceremony. Because of COVID-19 protocol, the Florida Panthers were not allowed to come out during the ceremony but Joel Quenneville came out to see it. It was really nice to see as the team honored one of its all-time greatest players.
The Chicago Blackhawks knew that Tuesday’s game was a must-win contest.
The Hawks caught a little bit of a break before the game started as Florida’s best player, Aleksander Barkov, left warmups with an injury. They knew they needed to take advantage of one of the best two-way players in the National Hockey League not playing.
Things were going well for them when they were winning 3-0. Goals from Dominik Kubalik, Pius Suter, and Carl Soderberg got them there. Patrick Kane had a lot to do with it in his big game as well as he collected two assists. When you are up by a few goals against the Panthers, however, you can’t feel too comfortable. They are one of the best teams in the NHL at coming back.
They showed why as they scored two to make things very interesting. Joel Quenneville made the bold move of pulling his goalie when his team earned a power play with five minutes left. They scored so it worked out but they were never able to tie it after that.
Kevin Lankinen was the first star of the game and he deserved it. He made big saves late to keep Florida from getting that third goal. The team played well in front of him for the most part during the entire game but he did need to make some big saves. It was a tough stretch for him on the road but he looked sharp against this very good Florida team.
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It was a much-needed win for the Blackhawks. The road trip woes ruined the big gap they had on the playoff spot. They even fell below it for a second there. The Columbus Blue Jackets were shutout on Monday so the Hawks took back that spot and have a 35-33 points lead over them. Now, this big homestand continues with another game against the Panthers on Thursday night. It is going to be another important game as these home points mean a whole lot