The Chicago Blackhawks battled for two periods, but watched the Florida Panthers net four unanswered goals to claim victory at the United Center.

The Chicago Blackhawks had quite the gauntlet over the weekend. A shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes was followed up with a shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The extended games in a back-to-back are tiring. It seemed clear that it wore on the Blackhawks Sunday evening.

The Florida Panthers came to town on a mission. Now that Matthew Tkachuk is healthy and back in the lineup, they’re making a push to win their third straight Stanley Cup. The Panthers sit just outside the Wild Card picture in the Eastern Conference. A strong finish to January and a hot month of March can easily position them for a chance to go back-to-back-to-back.

The eager Panthers kicked off the scoring on Sunday. With no scoring action in the first period, the Panthers got on the board as Tobias Bjornfot scored his first goal of the season late in the middle frame. However, the Hawks answered quickly. Netting his 25th goal of the season, Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game before the end of the period.

Unfortunately for Chicago, they awoke a sleeping giant in the third period. Florida scored four unanswered goals in the third, seemingly taking advantage of a worn down Blackhawks team. Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe put the Panthers up by two. Sam Reinhart later added an empty net goal, and Bjornfot netted his second of the night shortly after to rub salt in the wound for the 5-1 victory.

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Spencer Knight narrowly missed keeping Samoskevich’s goal out, but the other goals were out of his control. Great plays by the Panthers set them up for success.

What’s On Tap Next?

The Blackhawks experienced quite the gauntlet over the weekend. The Hurricanes, Lightning, and Panthers were quite the three-game set in four days. The Hawks don’t have an easy schedule ahead per se, but there are some winnable games on the docket. The upcoming slate features five games before the Olympic break in February, starting with the Minnesota Wild on the docket Tuesday night.