Bjornfot’s Breakout Night Sparks Panthers’ Stunning Third-Period Surge Over Blackhawks

Tobias Bjornfot — honestly, who saw that coming? The defenseman, barely a regular on the scoresheet with just a trio of goals over seven NHL seasons, exploded for two crucial markers, propelling the Florida Panthers to a commanding 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday night. This win wasn’t just another notch on the belt; it marked Florida’s third straight triumph and pushed the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs over the .500 mark by eight games — a milestone they hadn’t hit all season. With contributions pouring in from Mackie Samoskevich, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Reinhart, who sealed the game with an empty-net goal, plus a sturdy 19-save performance from Daniil Tarasov, the Panthers showed they’re far from just a fleeting force. Meanwhile, Chicago’s Tyler Bertuzzi tried to keep pace with his 25th tally, but it just wasn’t enough to halt Florida’s surge. If you didn’t catch this gem live, trust me, the Panthers’ resilience after a back-to-back is worth a deep dive. LEARN MORE.

CHICAGO (AP) — Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot scored his first two goals this season — giving him just three over seven NHL seasons and 139 career games — and the Florida Panthers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night for their third straight win.

Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe connected 2:04 apart early in the third period and Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter as the Panthers won for the sixth time in eight. Daniil Tarasov made 19 saves and the two-time defending Stanley Cup Panthers moved eight games over .500 for the first time this season.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored his team-leading 25th goal for the Blackhawks. Spencer Knight, who started his career with Florida, made 20 saves and fell to 0-2 against his former team.

The teams generated only a handful of chances through the first and second periods and neither pressured with a territorial edge.

Bjornfot’s fluke goal opened the scoring with 4:27 left in the second. From a faceoff in the Chicago zone, he circled the net and jammed in the puck through Knight’s pads from the right side.

It was the journeyman’s first goal in five games this season. His previous score came in May 2021 with Los Angeles during the COVID-19 altered season.

Bertuzzi tied it 1-all with 29.3 seconds left. At the edge of the crease, he took Ilya Mikheyev’s feed and shoveled a high shot past Tarasov’s stick side.

The Panthers responded with a four-goal third period, despite playing at Minnesota on Saturday and winning 4-3 in overtime.

Samoskevich put Florida back ahead at 5:20 of the final frame when his shot from the slot slipped under Knight’s arm and trickled over the goal line.

Verhaeghe upped it to 3-1 just over two minutes later, firing a one-timer from the slot.

Reinhart scored into an empty net with 1:49 left. With Knight back in goal, Bjornfot connected with 22 seconds left after he cruised into the slot and fired in Verhaeghe’s feed.

Up next

Panthers: Host Utah on Tuesday.

Blackhawks: At Minnesota on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl