Drought Breaks for Two Florida Panthers in Win Over Blackhawks

It had been a while since Mackie Samoskevich and Toby Bjornfot had scored goals, but the Florida Panthers certainly welcomed their contributions against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night.

Bjornfot scored his first goal since 2021 and Samoskevich got his first in 19 games and the Panthers beat the host Blackhawks 5-1 for their third straight win and a 3-0 road trip.

It was Florida’s first win in Chicago under coach Paul Maurice, snapping a three-game losing streak at United Center.

With the win, the Panthers pulled within three points of the idle Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida also has a game in hand.

Bjornfot gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 4:27 left in the second period — his first goal since May 1, 2021 while playing with the Los Angeles Kings.

He got a second one with 22 seconds left just for good measure.

Only the Blackhawks were able to tie things up just before the second intermission on a failed clear, Tyler Bertuzzi scoring off a rebound in front of the net.

The Panthers took the lead for good at 5:20 of the third, Samoskevich rifling a shot from the right circle that slipped past Spencer Knight. The goal was Samoskevich’s first since Dec. 11.

Florida got some breathing room just over 2 minutes later, Carter Verhaeghe scoring off a nice feed from Evan Rodrigues.

Daniil Tarasov remained unbeaten through four 2026 starts, making 19 saves in the win.

Gus Forsling, who was outstanding throughout Florida’s three road wins, had a two-point night with assists on the first two third-period goals.

Rodrigues also had two assists; Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist.

NOTES: PANTHERS AT BLACKHAWKS

• With his 153rd goal, Verhaeghe passed Pavel Bure for sole possession of sixth place on Florida’s all-time list.
• The Panthers made a lineup change following Saturday’s 4-3 OT win against the Minnesota Wild, bringing Cole Schwindt back and scratching Luke Kunin.
• Maurice also made changes to a pair of lines; Sandis Vilmanis moved up to play with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, with A.J. Greer going with Schwindt and Samoskevich.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Blackhawks 0 (15:33 2nd): Toby Bjornfot comes around the back of the net and wraps one in past Spencer Knight for his first goal of the season — and since 2021.
• Blackhawks 1, Panthers 1 (19:30 2nd): Tyler Bertuzzi scores off a rebound in front of the net on a shot from Ilya Mikheyev.
• Panthers 2, Blackhawks 1 (5:20 3rd): Mackie Samoskevich rips one from the right circle that Knight just could not get a handle on.
• Panthers 3, Blackhawks 1 (7:24 3rd): Carter Verhaeghe one-times a nice feed from Evan Rodrigues.
• Panthers 4, Blackhawks 1 (18:11 3rd EN): Sam Reinhart salts this one away.
• Panthers 5, Blackhawks 1 (19:38 3rd): Bjornfot is a scoring machine!

FHN’S 3 STARS

• 1. Toby Bjornfot, Panthers
• 2. Daniil Tarasov, Panthers
• 3. Mackie Samoskevich, Panthers

ON DECK: GAME No. 52

UTAH MAMMOTH at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• Season Series (Panthers Lead 1-0) — At Utah: Panthers 4, Mammoth 3 (Dec. 10). At Florida: Tuesday.
• Last Season: Florida Won 2-0
• All-time Regular Season Series vs. Coyotes/Utah: Florida leads 24-20-0, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m.