Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Blackhawks overwhelm
Panthers’ D turns in subpar game in 4-1 loss
power play at the end of the period. Brandon Saad had seven shots on goal in the period, matching the Panthers’ total.
Chicago forward John Hayden got Chicago on the board first with a shot from the slot that beat Luongo over his left shoulder. Tommy Wingels tried a wraparound that rolled through Derek MacKenzie’s attempted clear and into Hayden’s waiting stick.
Saad tallied a goal of his own five minutes later, at 14:35, on a feed from Jonathan Toews. Toews retreated to the corner of the offensive zone as Panthers forward Connor Brickley abandoned him. Brickley offered Toews space. He didn’t turn it down.
McCann stemmed the Blackhaws tide with a laser past Chicago’s Corey Crawford just 66 seconds into the second period. It was part of a Panthers revival in the second period that saw 10 shots on goal in about five minutes. But it didn’t last long.
Patrick Kane slipped a shot past Luongo six minutes later. This time, it was Nick Bjugstad who deserted the puck and presented Kane with more time.
Then Toews embarrassed Luongo. Armed with a one-handed swinging stick and a bouncing puck, Toews added to the Panthers’ misery. From the right circle, Toews flailed at the puck on his backhand, just barely making contact with it. It dribbled towards, then through Luongo.
That version of Luongo wasn’t commonly seen in the last month. He rebounded from a slow start to approach career-best numbers. He notched 45 saves against Carolina. He shut out San Jose. But that Luongo wasn’t at the BB&T Center on Saturday night.
Before the game, Panthers coach Bob Boughner stressed the need for a clean game against the Blackhawks.
“Obviously, a team that feeds off the rush and feeds off of turnovers and can make you pay for your mistakes,” Boughner said. “We got to play a pretty disciplined game here. We got make sure that we’re taking care of our own end and solid without the puck tonight.”