{"id":231958,"date":"2025-10-08T22:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T22:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/231958\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T22:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T22:01:10","slug":"frank-nazar-shines-as-blackhawks-fall-3-2-to-panthers-in-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/231958\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Nazar Shines as Blackhawks Fall 3-2 to Panthers in Season Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Blackhawks faced the Florida Panthers in a tight first match of the season. Discover the game highlights now.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-2 against the Florida Panthers in the first regular-season game of the 2025-26 NHL season. Frank Nazar scored the first goal of the season, and Spencer Knight performed spectacularly to kick off the Blackhawks\u2019 100th season. For a game against the defending Stanley Cup champions, this was fine. <\/p>\n

Box Score: Panthers 3 \u2013 Blackhawks 2<\/p>\n

Link to NHL.com results<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BlackhawksBlackhawks at Panthers box score. Fancy stats are 5-on-5.<\/p>\n

Game Notes<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks had a rough opening period. They owned 27.03% of 5-on-5 shot attempts and had a 22% expected goals share. Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov both had rough starts but settled down after the first period. Connor Bedard certainly looked faster\u2014his top speed of 22.36 mph was faster than his top speed last season (21.44). So, I guess we\u2019ll start with Bedard.<\/p>\n

Connor Bedard<\/p>\n

Connor Bedard\u2019s speed jumped off the screen. He took more shot attempts, and he created incredible plays. Of note was this pass to Colton Dach<\/a>. Bedard had six shot attempts and only two shots on goal at all strengths. It hurts to see Bedard without the help he desperately needs. If a player similar to Teuvo Teravainen had received the same pass that Dach did, that\u2019s a goal. His line with Ryan Donato and Andre Burakovsky only had a 40 Corsi. Burakovsky, I thought, looked alright. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Teravainen-Nazar-Bertuzzi<\/p>\n

Frank Nazar\u2019s line with Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi had a good night. The line created both goals but had horrid underlying numbers (39.13 Corsi and a 24.73 xG%). Nazar\u2019s goal was easily the highlight of the game; he scored on a breakaway to open up the scoring. Nazar finished the night with one goal and an assist from Teuvo Teravainen\u2019s goal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Story continues below.<\/p>\n

More Sports News<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Wyatt Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov<\/p>\n

Artyom Levshunov had a rough first period with two dangerous giveaways and two penalties (although they were soft calls). Once things had settled down, Levshunov looked better. A big part of that was because of his partner, Wyatt Kaiser. Kaiser had a 60 Corsi, and against this Panthers team, that\u2019s impressive. Kaiser and Levshunov created numerous chances towards the end of the game. Even Levshunov had solid possession numbers with a 54.17 Corsi. <\/p>\n

Extra Thoughts<\/p>\n

Spencer Knight deserves his own paragraph above; he had an excellent night with a .919 SV% and a .857 high danger SV%.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks had three power-play opportunities and didn\u2019t score on any of them. <\/p>\n

Ryan Greene had good moments on the forecheck. <\/p>\n

Nothing worth getting worked up about after one game\u2014especially against the Florida Panthers. The Blackhawks\u2019 next opponent, the Boston Bruins, will be a better gauge of where this team is. We will find that out on Thursday at 6 pm CT.<\/p>\n

Four Feathers Podcast Postgame <\/p>\n