National Hockey League
Florida 4, Chicago 3
When: 8:30 PM ET, Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Referees: Jon McIsaac, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen: Kiel Murchison, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 21559

Frank Vatrano tallied his second career hat trick, and the Florida Panthers held on for a 4-3 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

Evgenii Dadonov also scored for Florida, which won its sixth game in a row. The hat trick for Vatrano was his first since Dec. 18, 2015, when he was a rookie with the Boston Bruins.

The victory capped an emotional evening for Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cup championships with the Blackhawks before he was fired early last season. Quenneville received a standing ovation and video tribute in his first return to Chicago as an opposing coach.

Kirby Dach, Drake Caggiula and Patrick Kane each scored for Chicago, whose five-game winning streak ended.

Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves to earn his second win in as many nights.

Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner allowed four goals on 26 shots.

Florida opened the scoring 4:43 into the second period when Dadonov netted his team-high 23rd goal of the season. He poked in a rebound from the right side of the crease to give him a goal in each of his past four games.

Ninety-one seconds later, Vatrano doubled the lead on a wrist shot from the right circle. Mike Hoffman parked near the front of the net and provided a partial screen on the shot.

Vatrano scored again midway through the second period to make it 3-0. He turned to his wrist shot again, this time from the left circle, and beat Lehner between his leg pads.

The Blackhawks cut the deficit to 3-1 with 6:27 remaining in the second period. Dach scored on a backhand shot for his seventh goal of the season and his first since Dec. 21.

Vatrano completed the hat trick on a power play in the final minute of the second period to put the Panthers on top 4-1. He battled for position near the crease and redirected a pass from Hoffman for his third goal of the night and his 14th of the season.

A power-play goal by Caggiula pulled the Blackhawks within 4-2 at the four-minute mark of the third period. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson blasted a one-timer that Caggiula deflected into the net for his sixth goal.

Chicago cut it to 4-3 when Kane scored his 25th goal with an extra attacker on the ice with 1:15 to play.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Chicago
Frank Vatrano 3 Points Kirby Dach 2
Frank Vatrano 3 Goals Kirby Dach 1
Mike Hoffman 2 Assists Erik Gustafsson 2
Frank Vatrano 1 Power Play Goals Drake Caggiula 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sergei Bobrovsky .914 Save Percentage Robin Lehner .846
Sergei Bobrovsky 32 Saves Robin Lehner 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 26 4 1-3 3-4 8 33
Chicago 35 3 1-4 2-3 6 32
Upcoming Games
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .444 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Panthers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .667 after a loss.