Blackhawks: Three takeaways from Chicago’s game against the Panthers

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The Chicago Blackhawks came into tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers having previously beaten them for the first time this season.

Obviously, this is a trend that the ‘Hawks were looking to continue. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators were both right on Chicago’s heels in the Central Division, so the chance to put some distance between the teams in the standings means they definitely wanted to grab two points.

The ‘Hawks started the game well, and despite being heavily outshot for the entirety of the game, Chicago pulled out the victory, winning the game 3-0. While this was not the best three periods the Blackhawks ever played, there were some big pluses for the team tonight, and the more important thing was the number on the scoreboard. Clearly, the positives from this game outweighed the negatives, and it worked in the ‘Hawks favor.

Looking forward, though, the Panthers definitely played the more complete game overall. They just couldn’t find the back of the net, which is a rarity for Joel Quenneville’s crew, as they’re a team that is used to scoring a ton of goals. That isn’t to say the Cats didn’t try, though, as we’ll get to a bit later. Overall, it probably can’t be said that the better team won tonight. However, a victory is a victory, and the ‘Hawks will take it.

This is probably not one that Head Coach Jeremy Colliton will want the boys in the locker room to remember as their finest hour. Despite that, though, there were definitely some bright spots in this one for the Blackhawks.

Chicago will now look forward to the rest of their homestand. The ‘Hawks next series is against the Nashville Predators. After that, they’ll welcome the surging Carolina Hurricanes to the Windy City. Clearly, the Blackhawks have their work cut out for them for a good while.

Here are three takeaways from tonight’s big victory against the Florida Panthers.

Phillipp Kurashev, Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The Blackhawks’ physicality the past few years hasn’t been a huge part of their game. Despite that, the hits came when they needed to tonight.

The ‘Hawks, despite being outhit at the end of the day, threw their bodies around well tonight. While it did translate to a few unneeded penalties, Chicago definitely showed off their physical side tonight. These two teams have played a lot this season and the series has gotten chippy at times, so it’s nice to see that translated into some hits.

Personally, I’ve always felt that speed and skill is the most important aspect of winning in the NHL. However, being able to throw your weight around up-and-down the lineup is important, especially in the modern era of hockey. The ‘Hawks definitely didn’t shy away from that in this game, including a second-period fight between Ryan Carpenter and MacKenzie Weegar.

Perhaps the biggest moment tonight came from Nikita Zadorov, who threw a massive hit in the third period. The big defenseman stepped up on Panthers forward Patric Hornqvist and delivered an Earth-shattering check:

#FlaPanthers forward Patric Hornqvist left at 4:15 of the third period after a hit by #Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zadorov.

Hornqvist skated off the ice with some assistance. pic.twitter.com/7nqTZg2W30
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) March 26, 2021

Obviously, you never want to see any player on any team get hurt, and hopefully Hornqvist will be alright. The hit itself, however, was a clean shoulder check, and it definitely deflated the Panthers midway through the third period. Overall, the physical side of the Hawks showed up in a big way tonight, and hopefully, that is a trend that will continue through the remainder of Chicago’s season.

Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

While the Blackhawks came away with the victory, they were heavily outshot the entire game.

This is a trend that can’t continue if the team wants to keep winning hockey games. The ‘Hawks were outshot 41-21, including being outshot 28-14 through the final two periods of the contest.

Obviously, there were a lot of aspects that went into this Blackhawks win. Patrick Kane scored on the powerplay, and when the ‘Hawks did have the puck in the offensive zone tonight, they knew what to do with it.

Overall, though, Chicago needs to do a much better job in minimizing the other team’s chances to score. The barrage of shots didn’t only come from the Panthers’ marquis players, either. Right-winger Owen Tippett would fire the puck on net nine times during this game. Besides coming from their bottom six, Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad would add another seven shots from the blue line.

The Blackhawks simply can’t expect to win hockey games by being outshot so heavily, and especially not with the other team doubling their shot totals. That isn’t even factoring in the 22 blocked shots that Chicago had which could’ve been additional scoring chances. So with all of this combined, the team needs to make sure that they are doing a better job of spending less time in their own zone.

Kevin Lankinen, Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

If the ‘Hawks are going to allow 41 shots on goal in a game, they better hope they have an outstanding goaltender between the pipes. Tonight, they did.

Kevin Lankinen was the absolute story of the game. The Blackhawks goalie stopped all 41 pucks that he saw, picking up his second career NHL shutout and making some remarkable saves along the way. Per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, that is the highest number of saves made by a goalie during a shutout this season.

The 25-year-old Finn has been the unsung hero of the Blackhawks all season long, so it’s no surprise that he stood on his head tonight. There is a lot of talk of Lankinen being the key to the team’s renaissance, and after the performance he gave in this game, it’s quite easy to see why.

After this victory, Lankinen sits with a .915 save percentage and a respectable 2.83 goals-against-average. For a rookie goaltender who has had less than 2,000 minutes of NHL ice time, there is no reason to think that Lankinen shouldn’t be able to keep this solid play up for the rest of the season, and hopefully longer.

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It is clear from the number of games he has played this year that Jeremy Colliton fully intends on molding Lankinen into the team’s starter of the future. In some ways, he already is. If nothing else, the ‘Hawks should be buying Lankinen a steak dinner after this game, because if there is anyone to thank for this victory, it’s definitely him.

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The Chicago Blackhawks came into tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers having previously beaten them for the first time this season.

The Blackhawks’ physicality the past few years hasn’t been a huge part of their game. Despite that, the hits came when they needed to tonight.

While the Blackhawks came away with the victory, they were heavily outshot the entire game.

If the ‘Hawks are going to allow 41 shots on goal in a game, they better hope they have an outstanding goaltender between the pipes. Tonight, they did.

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