Blackhawks Drop Panthers

     The Chicago Blackhawks squeezed by the Florida Panthers 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night at BB&T Center. The Panthers are winless at home in their last six games. The Cats finished February with a home record of 0-5-1 and have not won a home contest since January 16 against the Los Angeles Kings.
     It was the second time this season that Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville faced his former team. He led the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
     Florida(33-25-7) bolted out to a 1-0 lead just 4:07 into the first period with an unassisted goal. Brandon Saad attempted a back pass from the right wing of the Panthers zone and it was intercepted by Mike Hoffman. He skated through the neutral zone down the left side. Hoffman dashed through the left circle to the crease area, deked to the backhand and put in past Corey Crawford for his 27th goal of the season. Hoffman extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-high five games and his point streak to seven games.
     Chicago(29-28-8) battled back and tied the contest 1-1 with 7:06 remaining in the first. Adam Boqvist took a slap shot from the right point that was redirected in by Jonathan Toews from the low slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his 17th goal of the campaign.
     In the second period, the Blackhawks got their first lead of the contest at the 6:21 mark. Toews was on the right wing and passed it to Connor Murphy at the top of the zone. His slapshot was deflected in by Drake Caggiula in the slot area. It was the 39th assist of the season for Toews.
     The Panthers evened it 2-2 with 1:28 left in the third period. Mike Matheson poked the puck at center ice around a defenseman to himself. He snapped a from the right-circle dot for the tying goal. Hoffman compiled his second point of the game with the only assist on the play.
     Their was no scoring in overtime and the game would reach a shootout. Toews slid the puck in on the first attempt by the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane scored the second attempt for Chicago and they got the victory.