Florida Panthers Win Season Debut

     The defending two-time Stanley Cup champions the Florida Panthers opened up their title reign with a a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025-26 season opener at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Tuesday night. The Panthers raised their 2025 Stanley Cup championship banner up to the rafters prior to the start of the game. 

     In the first period, Chicago(0-1-0) broke out to a 1-0 lead at the 10:03 mark. Teuvo Teravainen backhanded the puck out of the Blackhawks zone and Tyler Bertuzzi sent a lead pass from his own blue line for a breakaway. Frank Nazar slid a forehand shot from the slot area past Sergei Bobrovsky for the first tally in the NHL this season. 

     Florida(1-0-0) answered back with 8:54 left in the first to tie it up 1-1. Gustav Forsling took a one-time slap shot from the left point. Jonah Gadjovich backhanded a pass from the inner left circle and A.J. Greer lifted a wrist shot from the top of the crease by Spencer Knight. 

     The Panthers added a power-play goal with 5:52 to go and made it 2-1. Mackie Samoskevich centered the puck from the right corner and Carter Verhaeghe snapped a shot from the right side of the crease for his first goal of the season. 

      The Blackhawks evened it up 2-2 at the 1:09 mark of the second period. Nazar cleared the puck out of his zone and Bertuzzi carried it down the ice. He made a cross-ice pass from above the top right circle and Teravainen scored on a wrist shot from the inner left circle. 

     The Cats pulled ahead 3-2 at 9:40 of the third period. Evan Rodrigues dumped it in from the neutral zone into the left corner. Samoskevich was able to backhand a square pass from the low left circle. Jesper Boqvist batted the puck in from the top of the crease for the go-ahead goal.