The Florida Panthers shut out the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Friday night at BB&T Center. The Panthers snapped a four-game winless streak while the Blackhawks lost their second straight game following 12 consecutive victories.
It was the first win for the Cats over the Hawks in nine meetings going back to 2011. Roberto Luongo compiled his 72nd career shutout and passed Harry Lumley along with Lorne Chabot for 10th all-time in NHL history.
Chicago(32-15-4) was held to no shots on goal in the first eight minutes of the contest. Florida(27-15-5)) got up 1-0 at 10:19 of the first period. Jussi Jokinen carried the puck through center ice and connected a outlet pass to his left. Smith received it, sprinted to the low left circle and beat Scott Darling to the near side for his 14th goal this season.
The Panthers extended their margin to 2-0 with 2:42 left in the frame, Jonathan Huberdeau pass from the right point was deflected to Aleksander Barkov in the right corner. He fed a diagonal pass to Brian Campbell at the top left circle as he blasted home a slapshot. Florida is now 13-2-0 when he records a point in a game.
The Cats made it a three-goal gap with 2.1 seconds to go. Quinton Howden carried the puck into the Blackhawks zone, skated to the low left circle and snapped a shot that trickled through Darling for an unassisted goal.
Florida continued their momentum early in the second period as Aaron Ekblad scored an unassisted goal at 2:51 and gave the Panthers a 4-0 lead. He picked up the loose puck at the top right circle and rifled a slapshot into the Chicago cage for his 10th goal of the campaign.
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