Patrick Kane and Brandon Hagel both had a goal and an assist to back a 41-save shutout by Kevin Lankinen as the host Chicago Blackhawks defeated Florida 3-0 on Thursday night for their second straight victory over the Panthers.
Chicago stymied six Florida power plays to remain perfect to start a six-game homestand. The Panthers fell to 0-3 on a five-game road trip while losing for the fourth time in five games overall.
Lankinen stopped 17 shots in the second period, including a save on Jonathan Huberdeau as the Panthers were unable to capitalize on a 3-on-0 rush with just under three minutes remaining in the period. The Blackhawks exhaled midway through the period when Anthony Duclair hit the crossbar on a short-handed breakaway opportunity for the Panthers.
The Blackhawks earned their third shutout of the season, with Lankinen contributing his second. He previously blanked Detroit 2-0 on Feb. 17.
Chicago managed a meager 20 shots against Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, but a flurry early in the second period stood up as the only offense the club would need.
Kane opened the scoring on a power-play goal at 1:05 of the period, sliding in amid heavy traffic in front of the net and flipping a loose puck over a sprawling Bobrovsky. Pius Suter made it 2-0 just 2:29 later, kicking a rebound of an Alex DeBrincat shot to himself before gathering the puck and shooting it into an open net.
Hagel added an empty net goal at 18:36 of the third period.
Florida was blanked for the second time this season and first since falling 3-0 to the visiting Dallas Stars on Feb. 24.
Panthers leading scorer Aleksander Barkov missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Florida coach Joel Quenneville said before the game that Barkov is "feeling way better" after being a late scratch Tuesday, and the team will assess whether Barkov might play during the team's back-to-back series in Dallas on Saturday and Sunday.
--Field Level Media
Florida | Chicago | |
N/A | Points | Brandon Hagel 2 |
N/A | Goals | Brandon Hagel 1 |
N/A | Assists | Brandon Hagel 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Patrick Kane 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Sergei Bobrovsky .900 | Save Percentage | Kevin Lankinen 1.000 |
Sergei Bobrovsky 18 | Saves | Kevin Lankinen 41 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Florida | 41 | 0 | 0-6 | 2-3 | 21 | 27 |
Chicago | 21 | 3 | 1-3 | 6-6 | 17 | 26 |