Lars Eller scores late as Florida Panthers edge Chicago Blackhawks 3-2

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

CHICAGO — Lars Eller scored 2:23 into the closing stretch of the third period to break a tie and send the Florida Panthers past the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 at the United Center on Sunday. Eller finished the go-ahead play by taking a shot from the right face-off circle after entering the offensive zone, beating Spencer Knight for his first goal in 12 games this season.

Florida (6-4-2) also received goals from Sandis Vilmanis and Matthew Tkachuk in the win, while Akira Schmid made 20 saves. For Chicago (3-8-0), Ryan Greene and Roman Kantserov scored, and Knight stopped 29 shots, but the Blackhawks went 0-for-7 on the power play and managed three goals across their three straight losses heading into the game.

The scoring started early for Chicago when Greene opened the night with a 1-0 lead at 2:34 of the first period. Andrew Mangiapane collected the puck behind the net and delivered a quick backhand pass to Greene, who scored on a forehand shot for his first goal in 11 games this season.

Florida answered at 6:49 of the first when Vilmanis tied the game 1-1. Vilmanis redirected a shot by Sam Reinhart for his first goal in 11 games this season. The Panthers then took a 2-1 lead at 14:21, scoring just five seconds into a power play when Seth Jones’ high-slot shot deflected into the net off Tkachuk’s body to end Tkachuk’s six-game goal drought.

The Panthers posted an advantage in early play as they outshot Chicago 15-6 in the first period. That momentum helped Florida maintain control through the opening two periods despite Chicago finding the equalizer in the second.

Kantserov tied the game 2-2 at 11:15 of the second period. Patrick Kane fed the puck out from the goal line to Kantserov, who scored on a wrist shot from the right circle. With the score level entering the third, Eller’s late strike proved decisive for Florida.

Eller’s goal came after he skated into the offensive zone and snapped a wrist shot from the right face-off circle past Knight with 2:23 remaining in the third. After that late go-ahead goal, Florida held on to complete the two-goal swing that carried it to the 3-2 final.

The result closed out the Panthers’ current four-game road trip segment with Florida having lost the first two games by a combined 9-1 score; Sunday’s win ended the night with Florida coming away with the two points at Chicago. For the Blackhawks, the loss extended a difficult stretch in which they continued to struggle on special teams and were held to five total goals across recent results in the lead-in described in the league recap.