Barkov Leads Panthers To 5-2 Victory Over Blackhawks
CHICAGO (AP) — Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists and the surging Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks on 5-2 on Sunday for their third straight win.
Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour, MacKenzie Weegar and Anton Lundell also scored as Eastern Conference-leading Florida won for the seventh time in eight games and finished a five-game road trip at 4-1-0.
Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists to increase his league-leading assist total to 53 and extend his points streak to seven games. He has one goal and 11 assists in the span.
Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which dropped its third straight overall and seventh in a row at home (0-6-1). The Blackhawks haven't won at the United Center since beating Anaheim on Jan. 15 and are 8-13-4 in their rink this season.
Caleb Jones added a late goal in the third just as a Chicago power play ended to make it closer.
Kane's assist gave him 720 for his career, all with Chicago, and moved him past Hall of Famer Denis Savard for second on the team's career list.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for Florida. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 20 shots for Chicago.
The Blackhawks matched tempo with the high-scoring Panthers for much of the game. Florida entered the game leading the NHL in scoring at 4.14 goals and 36.5 shots per game.
Chicago outshot Florida 11-3 in the first, but the Panthers started to dominated as the period went on.
Ekblad pinched in from the left point and opened the scoring with 3:27 left in the period. After darting to the circle, he one-timed Sam Reinhart's pinpoint cross-ice feed past Fleury.
Kane tied it at 1 by banking in a goal between Bobrovsky and the post with 32 seconds left in the first. The Chicago star fired hard from below the goal line in the left corner, and the puck caromed into the net off the shaft of Bobrovsky's stick.
Montour put Florida back ahead 2-1 at 7:26 of the second on a screened shot from the top of the slot. Fleury didn't even move as Montour's drive clanked in high off the left post.
Weegar made it 3-1 just 50 seconds into the third when he was left open in the slot. He golfed in Carter Verhaeghe's centering pass off Fleury.
Anthony Duclair appeared to make it 4-1 on a shot from the left circle at 7:57, but the play was ruled offside following a coaching challenge and video review.
Jones closed it to 3-2 with a goal with 7:22 left when his shot from the left circle slithered under Bobrovksy's left pad.
Barkov scored his team-leading 23rd goal into an empty net with 1:48 left to seal it. Lundell added a second empty-netter 39 seconds later.
HOT CATS
Mason Marchment stretched his points streak to eight games with an assist. He has nine goals and seven assists in the stretch. Reinhart extended his points streak to six games with his assist, and has five goals and five assists during the run.
Barkov has points in six of seven games, with five goals and six assists in the span.
NOTES: Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his ninth game under concussion protocol. ... Florida F Joe Thornton, remains day to day. The 42-year-old is the NHL's active points leader with 1,535.
UP NEXT:
Panthers: host Nashville on Tuesday to start five-game homestand.
Blackhawks: host New Jersey on Friday.
(© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)