The Chicago Blackhawks had their three-game point streak come to an end on Sunday night, as they lost 5-1 to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at the United Center. Florida has now won six of their last seven road games.
Much like the past two weeks, the Blackhawks’ offense struggled to get anything going on Sunday, as most of their shots were recorded from the perimeter and didn’t truly threaten backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov, who was making just his 16th start of the season. Chicago was credited with only six high-danger scoring chances and 1.64 expected goals for against the Panthers, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Head coach Jeff Blashill has tinkered with his forward lines quite a bit in recent days, and he did so once again at Sunday’s morning skate. However, those new-look combinations, where Oliver Moore skated with Connor Bedard, and Frank Nazar with Nick Lardis, didn’t last very long after a sluggish start. Blashill was throwing ideas at the wall and desperately hoping to get some results. He came up empty.
Over their last seven games, with six coming on home ice, the Blackhawks have totaled just 11 goals. They’ve recorded more than 24 shots on goal only once during that stretch. The offense is about as ice-cold as it gets right now.
It didn’t help that the Blackhawks received another poor showing from their slumping power play, as a 0-for-3 effort now has them without a goal in their last 17 opportunities. The last power-play goal they scored came back on Jan. 10.
Through the first 45 games of the season, the Blackhawks’ man advantage was converting on 23.3 percent of their chances, which ranked seventh in the NHL at the time. But after having gone seven straight games without a goal now, the power play is about to drop down to 16th.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 5-1 loss to the Panthers, dropping their record to 21-23-8 through 52 games this season.
FIRST PERIOD
Both teams were stout defensively to start Sunday’s game, with only 14 shots on goal combined in the first period. Florida created more opportunities than the Blackhawks, but not by much. The Panthers were ahead 8-4 in scoring chances and 4-1 in high-danger chances after 20 minutes.
The Blackhawks generated the only power play of the first period, as Ryan Donato drew a tripping penalty on A.J. Greer at 6:30. But the struggles on the man advantage continued for Chicago, with just one shot and no dangerous chances.
The best look for either side in the stanza perhaps came from defenseman Connor Murphy, who joined the rush in transition after Connor Bedard picked Cole Schwindt’s pocket at Florida’s blue line. Bedard dashed down the left side of the offensive zone and found a trailing Murphy, but Tarasov’s left pad robbed the right-handed defenseman of his third goal of the season.
The score remained 0-0 going into the intermission. The Blackhawks really struggled to sustain any offensive-zone time, leading to head coach Jeff Blashill mixing up his top-six forward lines… again.
SECOND PERIOD
After over 35 minutes of scoreless action, the game’s first goal was finally recorded late in the second period.
Off a faceoff in the Blackhawks’ zone, Tobias Bjorfot gained possession at the left point, skated down the boards and behind the net, and then sent a wraparound shot towards the far post. The puck carromed off defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and somehow found its way past Spencer Knight at 15:33. 1-0, Panthers. It’s Bjornfot’s second NHL goal and first since May 2021.
While the Blackhawks’ offense was stymied again for most of the period, they finally broke through and beat Tarasov in the final minute. Wyatt Kaiser made a sensational play to keep the puck in the offensive zone off a soft clearing attempt by Eetu Luostarinen. Kaiser sent a cross-ice pass over to Ilya Mikheyev at right circle, and he connected with Tyler Bertuzzi in front for his team-leading 25th goal of the season at 19:31. That snapped a mini five-game goal drought for Bertuzzi. 1-1.
Wyatt Kaiser➡️Ilya Mikheyev➡️Tyler Bertuzzi🚨
Kaiser keeps the play alive, and then Mikheyev feeds Bertuzzi in front for his 25th goal of the season to tie the game 1-1! Bertuzzi snaps a 5-game goal drought. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/fqlJese2Bu
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 26, 2026
Just like Friday’s game against Tampa, the score was tied 1-1 going into the second intermission. Florida was the better team through 40 minutes, however, with a 16-15 lead in shots on goal and a 14-7 edge in scoring chances.
THIRD PERIOD
The Blackhawks had a pair of chances early in the third period to grab the lead for the first time, but Tarasov remained solid for Florida to prevent that from happening.
After some sloppy passing by Chicago at center ice, the Panthers sent the puck into their offensive zone to try to set up the cycle. Mackie Samoskevich gained possession along the right boards and went undefended as he skated to the right faceoff circle. Samoskevich let go of a wrist shot that just snuck through Knight and across the line to make it 2-1 at 5:20. Kaiser gave a tremendous effort to try and clear the puck out of the crease, but he got there just too late.
Just over two minutes later, the Panthers struck again to add to their lead. Evan Rodrigues entered the zone and pulled off a few nifty stickhandles to maneuver around Artyom Levshunov and Andre Burakovsky. Rodrigues shipped a pass to Carter Verhaeghe in the soft spot of the Blackhawks’ zone, and he rifled a shot over Knight’s glove at 7:24. 3-1, Florida.
Knight hit the bench for the extra attacker with just over two minutes to play, and it didn’t take long for the Panthers to hit the empty net. Sam Reinhart iced the game at 18:11 for his team-leading 26th goal of the year. 4-1, Florida.
The final horn sounded at the United Center, signaling the end of the Blackhawks’ three-game point streak. They’ll return to action next on Tuesday for a Central Division tilt with the Minnesota Wild.
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