Bedard scores for the Blackhawks in their third straight game as they defeat the Panthers.

Bedard scores for the Blackhawks in their third straight game as they defeat the Panthers.

 After recovering from an injury, Hall plays his first with Chicago, and Mrazek makes 38 saves.

Chicago :     At United Center on Saturday, the Chicago ‘Blackhawks’ defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2. Connor Bedard scored for the third straight game, while Petr Mrazek made 38 saves.

• The Blackhawks (4-6-0), who hadn’t played since Monday’s 8-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, saw Taylor Hall score his first goal and provide two assists.
• Indeed, we had a tremendous comeback game, particularly in the first half, Mrazek remarked. We worked very hard this week in practice, and it paid off because we demonstrated how we can play and what we can do.
• For the Panthers (5-4-1), who trailed 3-0 in the first and 4-0 early in the second, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Matthew Tkachuk scored, while Anthony Stolarz made 19 saves.
• Florida led 19-7 in the second quarter and 15-3 in the third, following a 14-6 deficit in the first.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice stated,

• “We had a tough first [period].” “There will be 246 periods of play. I hope that was the worst we could do. Give them due acknowledgment. They skated quite hard. It was a difficult game for them (in Arizona). Coach Luke Richardson, I believe, had them focused. That was perhaps the most prominent of the two periods that followed. After the first phase, our only options are to figure out how to get out of it and not so much to offer apologies.
• “We were sufficiently energized tonight. Simply put, we were not informed of the commencement time. I was wrong about the time.
• At 6:25 of the first period, Nick Foligno gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead on a power play. Gustav Forsling of the Panthers was hit by a point-blank shot from Seth Jones from the blue line, and Foligno received the puck in the slot to score with a wrist shot.
• At 9:21, with the teams playing 4-on-4, Nikita Zaitsev scored in the slot after receiving a feed from Kurashev to make it 2-0. Zaitsev scored his first goal of the year.
• At 12:39, Hall forced a 3-0 result. After receiving a cross-ice feed from Jason Dickinson, he skated in behind Stolarz and placed the puck between the goalie’s pads. Hall, who was traded to the Boston Bruins on June 26, had missed the previous three games due to a shoulder ailment.
• At 5:29 of the second, Bedard scored his fifth goal of the year to increase the margin to 4-0. After a turnover by Florida, he picked up the puck in the neutral zone, skated down the left side, and beat Stolarz with a shot.
• In his 16:19 of ice time, Bedard got two shots on goal. Late in the second period, the 18-year-old rookie center stopped a shot by Forsling and, though he walked to the bench in pain, he eventually returned to the ice.
• Richardson stated, “I think he was in that awkward spot, like 10 feet away, where it’s going to hurt a little more.” “However, do you know what? Observed proper protocol and remained within the designated area. Our bench was greatly raised by that. I would like to witness a young man do that. Simply put, he reinforced an already strong performance.
• At 6:33 of the third, Ekman-Larsson scored on a wrist shot from just inside the blue line to cut the score to 4-1 on a power play.
• At 12:29, Tkachuk scored on a rebound of a shot by Carter Verhaeghe to pull Florida to within 4-2. Tkachuk (194 goals, 306 assists) recorded his 500th NHL point on that play.

• To be honest, he stated, “It doesn’t mean much today.” “I’m fortunate to have played with so many outstanding players.” They immediately brought it to us. It is too difficult to recover from when you concede three goals and then a fourth. However, we were near and had several opportunities. You’re placing yourself in a really bad situation when you’re behind 3 or 4-0.
• In the 5-2 final, Kurashev scored into an empty net at 19:50.

Kurashev remarked,

• “Our first period was definitely great.” “In the second half, they somewhat gained the upper hand, but Petr kept us in the game with some outstanding play. We performed admirably in weathering the storm, despite our best efforts.

NOTES:  Bedard (18 years, 110 days) broke the record set by Jeremy Roenick (19 years, 31 days on February 17, 1989) by becoming the youngest player in Blackhawks history with a three-game goal streak. .. Nine of Chicago’s 29 blocked shots were credited to defenseman Jarred Tinordi. The Panthers lost their last four games (3-0-1).

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