Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice had the quote of the night even before Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks had started yet.
Maurice was talking about the “inconsistencies of youth” of the rebuilding Hawks when he pivoted to a long view of the franchise:
“You guys came to the rink for 20 years, won Stanley Cups and beat the hell out of everybody and you just assume that’s the way you go every year,” he said. “They have good young players, they have a superstar. It’s just a matter of time. Just hope it’s not tonight.
“We haven’t (expletive) won in here in years. We have to get our asses going. That’s what we have to do. It’s true. Been awful in here, but they made us bad. They skated us the last few games in here, quick-strike team. You make a mistake with the puck and it was in the back of the net.
“We’re the underdog tonight.”
The defending Stanley Cup champions as underdogs? Hardly.
Maybe Maurice jinxed himself, but it turned out the Hawks were game for the matchup, beating the Panthers 3-1 in front of 19,107 at the United Center.
The Hawks took a 1-0 lead on the Panthers in the first period with a power-play goal by Teuvo Teräväinen, his first goal at home. Niko Mikkola interfered with Craig Smith, setting up the Hawks on the game’s first man advantage. Teräväinen dished down low to Tyler Bertuzzi, who fired a pass that skipped off Spencer Knight’s right pad back to Teräväinen, who beat Knight before the goalie could slide over.
In the second period, Smith pushed the Hawks’ lead to 2-0 off a rush that started with Alec Martinez in the Hawks’ end. Smith intercepted a rim pass and moved it to Nick Foligno, who spun on his defender and passed to Pat Maroon in the neutral zone. Maroon sprung Smith on a breakaway, who finished off the rush with a backhander.
But the Panthers answered 34 seconds later with a backhander.
The Hawks had to sweat out a third-period penalty kill and Florida’s six-on-five, but Foligno ended the threat when intercepted Carter Verhaeghe’s lazy back pass to Aaron Ekblad and chopped in an empty-netter.
Foligno said that in six-on-five situations – and the Hawks have been in plenty of them – you can get lulled into thinking defenses will just let you set up for a rush because they’re outmanned.
“I just saw that he kind of made a soft pass, and I just jumped on it and luckily it poked right in,” he said. “I don’t think I planned it that way, but I’ll take it.”
The Hawks have had heartbreakers before, including giving up a six-on-five goal to the Winnipeg Jets in a 2-1 overtime loss Oct. 11.
Foligno said, “You know what was a relief? That we were playing six-on-five the other way. That’s a relief. Let’s be the team in the lead here and not trying to get that next one to tie the game.”
This week has been a snapshot of the Hawks.
They lost to a team they should beat (Anaheim Ducks) and they won a game in which – with all due respect to Maurice – they’re underdogs.
Smith said, “It was good to stick together and get a win like that. That’s a really good test, good team over there.”
The Hawks now turn their attention to Friday’s practice and a road matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
“We talked about being consistent in the game and we were but now we have to do it in games, plural, put an ‘S’ on the end of it,” Richardson said.
Here are five takeaways from the win.
1. Teuvo Teräväinen broke a six-game goal skid.
He had a goal and three assists in the last 16 games, but one of those helpers came Tuesday against the Ducks.
Teräväinen built on that modest momentum with his first goal in six games against the Panthers.
You’ll take goals any way you can get them, but four of his five this season have come on the power play. He hasn’t scored a regulation goal since the season opener against the Utah Hockey Club.
“The movement was good to get out of the pressure. So Teuvo carrying it up and over, and Connor (Bedard) seeing that and switching sides, I think that relieved a little pressure and it led us to make those little plays through to Bert down low,” Richardson said. “We got a fortunate bounce but Teuvo’s in the right spot. You get good bounces if you’re in the right spot.”
2. The best offense is a good defense?
Bedard didn’t record a shot attempt for the first time this season. His goal drought has reached 11 games, which is troubling for the Hawks.
But Richardson said this game called for Bedard, who had two blocks, to contribute more on defense than offense.
“I think he played a good game,” he said. “He backchecked really hard to basically even up a two-on-one in the second period and stopped in front of the net. We didn’t get him here to be a defensive specialist but the responsibility of playing against good lines, it comes first.
“He had a couple of chances that almost came through. He had a block in the second and (if he gets) a good bounce, maybe it’s a breakaway. Just didn’t bounce for him for the offensive side of things tonight, but he did everything right on the defensive side of the game against one of the top centermen in the league, playing against (Aleksander) Barkov’s line.”
3. The penalty kill was a big test for the Hawks.
It was an uh-oh moment.
The Hawks were clinging to a one-goal lead but were under pressure by the Panthers late in the third period.
But when defenseman Wyatt Kaiser accidentally lifted a breakout pass over the glass with 7 minutes, 38 seconds left, you got the sense the Hawks gave the Panthers an opening they’d soon regret.
However, the Hawks hunkered down and survived the penalty kill. Hawks goalie Petr Mrázek stopped two shots by Matthew Tkachuk.
Richardson said Kaiser can learn from the situation.
“It’s a tough break,” he said. “When you stop moving your feet because (the puck is) rolling, I think it gets worse. You’re probably better to take a stride or two and bank it off the bottom of the boards.
“It’s just a good lesson for a young guy: Move your feet, and you might have to take a bit of a hit but just round out toward the boards and bank it off there. But the penalty killing came through and Petr again was probably the strongest penalty killer.”
4. Jason Dickinson avoided a serious injury.
Dickinson left the game after taking a shot to his right hand.
Two minutes, 20 seconds into the second, he blocked Ekblad’s shot with his hand and shook it afterward. He played another shift before leaving with 12:02 left in the period.
It looked like another big setback for the Hawks, as Seth Jones is set to miss four more weeks after injuring his foot in Seattle, possibly from blocking a shot as well.
But Dickinson returned in the third period.
“They’ll have to evaluate him,” Richardson said. “He came back and gutted it out, played real hard and solid in some real crucial moments in the third period. Hopefully he’s all right.”
5. The last laugh: Nick Foligno’s takes never get old.
Forget what was said earlier – maybe Maurice has a challenger for quote of the night.
Foligno said about Smith’s goal, “Smitty scores a beautiful one. I said the average age in our line that time was 90.”
For the record, the Hawks’ four oldest players – Martinez (37), Foligno (37), Maroon (36) and Smith (35) – were on the ice for Smith’s goal. Maroon and Foligno assisted.
“So that was nice,” Foligno said. “Me, Patty and Smitty. And then we just find a way to get things done.”
“Smitty scores a beautiful one. I said the average age in our line that time was 90. So that was nice.”
–Nick Foligno on linemate Craig Smith’s 2nd-period goal #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/pnvn9WzaF4
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) November 22, 2024
