Blackhawks Lose Kane To Injury, Top Panthers 3-2 In Shootout
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CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks lost Patrick Kane to an injury in the first period and then blew a two-goal lead before escaping with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Jonathan Toews scored in regulation and the tiebreaker, helping Chicago stop a three-game losing streak. Kris Versteeg scored his 13th goal in the second period, and Scott Darling made 34 saves through overtime.
Toews went first in the shootout and beat Roberto Luongo with a backhand. After Darling stopped Vincent Trocheck, Patrick Sharp scored into the right side and Nick Bjugstad was unsuccessful on Florida's final chance to stay in the game.
Trocheck and Jussi Jokinen scored in the third for Florida, which has lost three in a row and six of eight. Pantherscenter Derek MacKenzie missed a penalty shot in the second period after Chicago winger Bryan Bickell slid a broken stick into his way in the corner.
Kane, tied for the NHL lead with 64 points coming into the day, was cross-checked into the boards by defenseman Alex Petrovic with 12:11 left in the first. Kane stayed down on the ice for a short time, and then appeared to be favoring his left side as he skated to the bench and went straight to the locker room.
The Blackhawks announced before the start of the second period that Kane would miss the rest of the game with an upper-body injury.
With Petrovic in the box in the first, Toews got a measure of revenge by following his own shot for his 18th goal. But any prolonged absence for the dynamic Kane would be a big blow for Chicago, which is fighting for playoff position in the loaded Western Conference.
Luongo made 36 saves for the Panthers, who host the Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Florida announced before the game it had traded forward Sean Bergenheim and a seventh-round pick to Minnesota for a third-round selection in the 2016 draft. Bergenheim, who has eight goals and 10 assists in 39 games this season, had requested a trade.
"We live and die by the draft," Florida general manager Dale Tallon said. "That's how we build things. It's a good pick. Bergy's a good hard-worker. He'll help Minnesota, but he wasn't happy here."
Versteeg put the Blackhawks ahead 2-0 when he jumped on a loose puck for his fourth goal in his last six games at 14:28. But the Panthers rebounded in the third.
Jokinen converted a wrist shot from the right slot at 12:20. Then Florida caught a break with 3 1/2 minutes left in regulation when Trocheck's centering pass went off the right skate of Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith and over the goal line before Darling could get his glove on it.
Brandon Saad had a good look for Chicago in overtime, but his shot went off the crossbar 42 seconds into the period. Darling made nice stops on Brad Boyes and Erik Gudbranson in rapid succession.
NOTES: The Blackhawks went 3-2-3 on their season-high, eight-game homestand. ... Sharp got an assist on Versteeg's goal for his 500th point with the Blackhawks. ... Chicago improved to 8-3 in shootouts, while Florida dropped to 6-9.
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