The Florida Panthers continued their dominance over the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday night. The Cats’ offense was led by Sandis Vilmanis, who had two goals and four points, while Sam Reinhart scored into the empty net, Carter Verhaeghe had a power-play tally, and Seth Jones continued his hot start with a goal. Jacob Markström started his second consecutive game, improving to 4-2-1 on the season with 17 saves.
Claw: Sandis Vilmanis enjoys first career four-point game
The Panthers recorded five hat tricks in October and almost had their first one of November thanks to Vilmanis’ two goals. He opened the scoring and then had Florida’s fourth goal of the game, which would have stood as the game-winner had Frank Nazar not scored two in the third. The 22-year-old from Latvia never had a four-point game in his career until Wednesday and went from three points in 14 games to seven points in 15. It was a career-defining performance for the former fifth-round pick, who is still looking for his first career hat trick.
Flaw: Jacob Markström remains a liability in net
The Panthers didn’t have a lot of options to replace Sergei Bobrovsky when he walked in free agency to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even though he’s off to a rough start with his new team, the man who replaced him, Markström, hasn’t had that great a run either. Sure, he has a winning record, but his SV% numbers are just bonkers. The 36-year-old wasn’t overly busy against Chicago on Wednesday, and the inactivity really showed in the third period.
Markström finished the night with an .850 SV%, and for those keeping score at home, this is an ugly number, one he’s become all too accustomed to producing on a nightly basis. Yes, the Panthers have won more games than lost, but against the Blackhawks, the second-worst team in the NHL standings, the Swedish netminder continued to let Chicago back in the game after Florida built up multi-goal leads.
Bill Zito made his decision to bring Markström back, and now every time he’s in a game, the score is never out of reach. Of course, one of the reasons he’s been so sloppy is that he hasn’t consistently played, but Connor Hellebuyck missed an entire month and looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. Maybe the Panthers do have to worry about goaltending after all.
Claw: Panthers' power play continues its remarkable turnaround
Does everyone remember a month ago when the Panthers started the season 1-for-28 on the power play? In the past 11 games, the team has rebounded to 16-for-43, which is 37.2%. On Wednesday, Verhaeghe scored another power-play goal, giving the Cats their seventh in the past five games. Overall, six different Florida players have cashed in on the man advantage, with Reinhart leading the way with six lamplighters, followed by Verhaeghe (five) and Brady Tkachuk (three). What was once a significant concern has become something of an afterthought as the Panthers continue to employ the ninth-best power play in the NHL.
Flaw: Panthers let another struggling opponent hang around
Just like their previous outings against the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets, two teams at or near the bottom of their respective divisions, the Panthers just let each team find momentum and roll with it. With a comfortable 3-0 lead, Florida let the Blackhawks get on the board before the second period ended and then let them get two more in the third to make an easy game much harder.
Yes, the Panthers limited Chicago to just six shots in the final 20 minutes, but the Original Six club scored on two of them. Realistically, many could say that Florida escaped Wednesday’s game thanks to shaky goaltending from the Blackhawks. Realistically, many could argue that Florida escaped Wednesday’s game thanks to shaky goaltending from the Blackhawks. As evidenced by Monday's loss to Detroit, a decent goalie can backstop a team to victory, and had Spencer Knight made a few more saves, the Panthers might not have scored five goals or walked away with two points.
What’s next for the Panthers?
After a brief two-game homestand, the road-tested Panthers are back on the bus this weekend, visiting Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Saturday. They close out the weekend on Sunday with a trip to Beantown and the division-leading Boston Bruins.
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