SUNRISE - Sandis Vilmanis gave the Florida Panthers exactly the kind of jolt they needed Wednesday night, and the rest of the lineup followed him into a 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Florida was coming off a loss to the Red Wings, but this one never really belonged to Chicago until the third period got messy. The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, then had to survive two different Blackhawks pushes that cut the margin to one before Vilmanis helped slam the door.
It was the first multi-point NHL game of Vilmanis’ career, and he made it count with two goals and two assists. His second goal came in the third period and restored Florida’s two-goal cushion after Chicago had pulled within one.
Sam Reinhart also kept stacking milestones. He had a goal and two assists, including the empty-netter that sealed it, while Carter Verhaeghe added a goal and an assist. Seth Jones scored against Spencer Knight, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 18 shots for Florida.
The Panthers got the opening goal at 4:43 of the first when Teuvo Teravainen lost the puck in the neutral zone and Reinhart found Vilmanis on the rush for the finish. Florida made it 2-0 at 12:29 of the first on the power play, with Matthew Tkachuk starting the sequence and Brady Tkachuk setting up Verhaeghe for the goal.
Vilmanis then turned playmaker in the second period, sending a sharp cross-ice pass to Jones for a one-timer at 13:20 that pushed the Panthers ahead 3-0.
Chicago answered before intermission and kept coming after that. Roman Kantserov buried the rebound after Ethan Del Mastro’s sharp-angled shot was turned aside, trimming Florida’s lead to 3-1 late in the second. Then Frank Nazar scored shorthanded at 9:31 of the third to make it a one-goal game.
Florida needed a response, and Vilmanis provided it at 11:01. After the Panthers won the faceoff in the Chicago zone and the Blackhawks failed to clear, Vilmanis collected the loose puck in the left circle and scored again.
Nazar wasn’t done, though. He struck once more at 16:09 to pull Chicago back within 4-3, but Reinhart finished it off with the empty-net goal.
Reinhart’s night carried some franchise history with it. His 202nd assist as a Panther moved him past Keith Yandle for eighth on the team’s all-time list.
He also became the fastest player to reach 400 career points in Panthers history, doing it in 401 games and topping Sasha Barkov’s previous mark of 465. The empty-net goal also tied Jonathan Huberdeau for second in Panthers history with 198.
Verhaeghe’s assist-heavy start helped him add another line to the record book as well. He was involved in the first two Florida goals and recorded his 43rd career multi-point period with the Panthers, moving one ahead of Reinhart for fifth-most in franchise history. Barkov leads that category with 100.
Jones, meanwhile, kept his strong start rolling. He has 19 points off three goals in his first 16 games of the season.
There was one concern for Florida late in the game. Niko Mikkola left in the third period with an undisclosed injury, though Paul Maurice said Mikkola, who returned for a single shift midway through the third, was OK.
Florida has now won seven of its last 10 and heads back on the road for three games starting Saturday in Washington. The Panthers will face the Capitals at 12:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena, with Boston coming to Florida on Sunday.
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Panthers May Have Found A New Offensive Threat Against Chicago
The Panthers got a needed lift in a 5-3 win over the Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena, and Sandis Vilmanis was at the center of it. Vilmanis led Florida with four points, including two goals, while Sam Reinhart added three points as the Panthers built enough of a cushion to survive Chicagos late push.
Florida still had to sweat through a comeback attempt before putting the game away with a late empty-net goal, but the bigger takeaway was the emergence of another offensive option. For a team that leans on its top scorers to drive the attack, getting that kind of production from Vilmanis gives the Panthers something to watch as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
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The update matters because Florida is still trying to navigate life without two top-line pieces, and any hint of progress naturally draws attention. Marchand offered a clearer sense of his path back, while Barkov stopped short of putting a date on his own return, leaving the Panthers with optimism but still a little uncertainty about when the lineup will be whole again. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Are Getting A Young Spark At The Perfect Time
Floridas 5-3 win over Chicago came with a timely jolt from Sandis Vilmanis, who helped tilt the night in the Panthers favor with a strong all-around effort. On a four-game NHL slate that also featured Adrian Kempes hat trick for the Kings and a few tight finishes elsewhere, Florida got the kind of young contribution that can matter a lot over the long haul.
Vilmanis was active in all the right ways as the Panthers kept pace in a game that had some back-and-forth to it before they pulled away. For a team looking to keep building depth and find more offense from within, a performance like this stands out, especially when it arrives in a game Florida needed to have. [Read more 🡒]