Panthers 3, Blackhawks 2: Eller Breaks It With 2:23 Left

October 25, 2026 - Chicago - Chicago was changing. Lars Eller stayed out. Tight angle, right circle, far side, 2:23 left. United Center had 2-2 for most of the third. It did not have a Blackhawks power-play goal on seven chances.

The Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Florida is 6-4-2 after two straight losses on this four-game trip, 9-1 combined, the NHL recap said. Chicago is 3-8-0, three straight losses, three goals in those three. Shots were 33-21 Florida, 15-6 in the first. Attendance was 18,117, per ESPN. Sandis Vilmanis, Connor Bedard, Kevin Korchinski, Andrew Mangiapane, and Bowen Byram are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Vilmanis and Matthew Tkachuk also scored. Akira Schmid stopped 19 of 21. Spencer Knight stopped 30 of 33. The NHL box is 30 saves. The Associated Press recap listed 29. Greene and Roman Kantserov scored. Patrick Kane and Bedard assisted on Kantserov. Seth Jones assisted on Tkachuk. Aaron Ekblad assisted on Eller.

A first period Florida had been missing

Greene opened it at 2:34. Mangiapane from behind the net, quick backhand, Greene's first in 11 games, the NHL recap said. The AP recap had Korchinski's point shot missing the net and bouncing in front. The NHL landing credited Mangiapane and Korchinski.

Vilmanis tied it at 6:49, a redirection of Sam Reinhart's shot in a scramble. First of the season in 11 games. Tkachuk made it 2-1 at 14:21, five seconds into a power play after Tyler Bertuzzi's trip. Jones from the high slot, off Tkachuk's body. The drought was six games. Brady Tkachuk had the other assist, the eighth time the brothers have combined on the same goal this season, the NHL notes said.

Florida coach Paul Maurice, on NHL.com: the first period was the first one they started to look fast offensively again. They got on the forecheck. They got more pucks to the net from the slot than they have possibly this year. Still not quite there. A step.

Carter Verhaeghe played his 500th NHL game and assisted on Vilmanis.

Kantserov ties it, Chicago cannot cash seven

Kantserov tied it at 11:15 of the second. Kane from the goal line, wrist shot from the right circle, screened. He had played a shift with Kane and Bedard. Chicago then went 0-for-7 on the power play, including two brief 5-on-3s, the AP recap said. The conversion rate is 8.33 percent, last in the NHL.

Bedard, on NHL.com: there is going to be frustration, they are 3-8. If there is no frustration, that is worse. Use it in the next game. Play with that edge. Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said the power play is mirroring the 5-on-5 game. They get chances. Power plays are funny animals. They will look at whether the process was good enough.

Eller's winner came off a line change. He told NHL.com he stayed out because he saw they were all changing, maybe a chance on a tight angle. It opened up more than he thought. He was not going to get a better look. He fired. First goal in 12 games. It feels good when it helps the team get two points.

Schmid, on NHL.com: mentally he tried to stay dialed in for a full 60. The last couple of games, a late goal would go in. He focused on that. Byram missed a fourth game with an upper-body injury. Korchinski, the 2022 seventh overall pick, played his second game of the season. Kane's helper was his 898th career assist, the NHL notes said. He can become the 21st player, and first American skater, to 900.

AthX Engine on a 3-2 that still went 0-for-7 the other way

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Vilmanis at 6.40: a goal and four shots. Tkachuk is 6.30 with the power-play bonus. Eller is 5.70. Jones is 5.40. Knight's 30-save loss is 8.40. Schmid's 19-save win is 8.20. Florida's club line is 16.60. Chicago's regulation loss is 1.40.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for Eller after a late first of the year, and for a Blackhawks power play that had seven looks and none. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Eller, Matthew Tkachuk, Knight, and both clubs on the marketplace. Florida is in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Los Angeles visits Chicago that night.

*Sources: NHL.com recap, ESPN recap, ESPN box. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020180. Information only; not financial advice.*