Lars Eller scored with 2:23 remaining in the third period to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday at United Center.
Chicago opened the scoring at 2:34 of the first period when Ryan Greene scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot. Sandis Vilmanis answered for Florida at 6:49, also scoring his first goal of the season with a backhand shot to tie the game. Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 2-1 advantage at 14:21 of the opening period, tipping in a shot on the power play for his fourth goal of the campaign.
The Blackhawks evened the score midway through the second period. Roman Kantserov scored his fourth goal of the season with a wrist shot at 11:15 to make it 2-2. The contest stayed deadlocked until the closing minutes of regulation, when Eller beat Spencer Knight with a wrist shot at 17:37 of the third period to secure the win for Florida.
Akira Schmid stopped 19 of 21 shots to earn the victory for the Panthers, who killed off all seven Chicago power plays while committing 16 penalty minutes. Knight made 30 saves on 33 shots in the loss as Florida finished with a 33-21 edge in shots on goal. The Panthers converted one of their four opportunities on the man advantage.
The victory moved Florida to 6-4-2 on the season and ended a two-game slide. Chicago fell to 3-8-0 and remains winless in three consecutive games.
Both teams return to the ice on Tuesday. The Panthers visit the Winnipeg Jets, while the Blackhawks host the Los Angeles Kings.
