Lars Eller tallied the go-ahead goal with 2:23 remaining in the third period and Sandis Vilmanis and Matthew Tkachuk also scored to lift the visiting Florida Panthers to a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Panthers goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 20 shots as Florida snapped a two-game losing streak. Schmid turned aside Cole Smith on a breakaway with 5:45 to keep the game tied at 2.
Eller netted his first goal of the season at 17:37 of the third period as the Panthers caught the Blackhawks in a line change. Eller took a long pass from Aaron Ekblad just inside the blue line, weaved down the right side and ripped a wrist shot from the circle past Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight.
For the 37-old-year Eller, it was also his first goal as a member of the Florida Panthers. He started his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues in the 2009-10 season and has played for the Montreal Canadiens (2010-16), Washington Capitals (2016-23, 2024-25), Colorado Avalanche (2023), Pittsburgh Penguins (2023-25) and Ottawa Senators (2025-26).
Special-teams struggles hurt the Blackhawks, who went 0-for-7 on the power play while also failing to capitalize on other chances at even strength. Knight made 29 saves.
Chicago managed just six shots in the first period, but one of the club’s early attempts provided a 1-0 lead.
Ryan Greene tracked a puck that bounced at the top of the crease and into the air and batted it past Schmid and into the net. Andrew Mangiapane earned the primary assist in his return to the lineup; the forward had been out after suffering a lower-body injury in the club’s season opener on Sept. 29.
Florida tied the game just over four minutes later, as Vilmanis backhanded a loose puck past Knight after the backstop made a save on Sam Reinhart.
The Panthers took a 2-1 lead on Matthew Tkachuk’s power-play goal at 14:21. Tkachuk deflected Seth Jones’ shot from the point just five seconds into the man advantage.
Chicago netted the equalizer at 11:15 of the second period when Roman Kantserov took a Patrick Kane feed from behind the net and scored on a wrist shot from the right circle.
Florida limited Chicago to one shot on goal during a four-minute power-play early in the second period after Carter Verhaeghe was whistled for a high-sticking double-minor against the Blackhawks’ Wyatt Kaiser.
Verhaeghe sent a wrist shot off the crossbar on a breakaway moments after springing from the penalty box.
The Blackhawks fell to 2-4-0 on a seven-game homestand that is set to conclude with Tuesday’s visit from the Los Angeles Kings.
–Field Level Media
