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Panthers get Maurice's Message Against Blackhawks

Paul Maurice called out the effort of his team and they responded
David Eversole|
Oct 13, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Sandis Vilmanis (95) controls the puck as Columbus Blue Jackets Center Adam Fantilli (19) trails the play during the first period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Sandis Vilmanis (95) controls the puck as Columbus Blue Jackets Center Adam Fantilli (19) trails the play during the first period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Entering their game Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Florida Panthers were reeling from back-to-back losses where they were out scored 9-1 against the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Florida's head coach Paul Maurice, as he is wont to do, spoke with little ambiguity when discussing the effort of his squad over the last two games.

I don't know if it's (that) we're on the spectrum of arrogance and softness that I've allowed to creep into our game. I'm going to find that out here in a couple days.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice

After a remarkable run in the previous week where the Panthers reeled off three straight wins and notched four hat tricks as a team, Florida continued the up-and-down cadence that has been an ongoing theme to begin the season.

Maurice shook up the second line for the Chicago game as Sandis Vilmanis got a bump up to the top six forward group with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart. Verhaeghe hit a milestone with his 500th game played in the NHL, with all but 52 during his rookie season in a Panthers sweater.

The Blackhawks entered Sunday's game in a similar position to the Panthers, as they were also in the midst of a two game losing streak where they managed just one goal while allowing eight combined against Dallas and Montreal.

Akira Schmid got the start in net for the Panthers but was faced with early adversity after an unlucky bounce off the notoriously tricky boards in the United Center gifted the home team an opportunity to make it 1-0 just 2:34 into the game.

The move to adjust the second line paid dividends in the opening period as the Panthers tied the game at one goal apiece courtesy of Sandis Vilmanis (1).

The Panthers led the NHL in penalty minutes entrering Sunday's action and continued the trend with three early penalties in the first period. Florida's penalty kill stepped up in each instance and the Panthers would channel that momentum to take a 2-1 lead late in the first period on a power play goal of their own by Matthew Tkachuk.

Chicago stepped up the offensive zone pressure in the second period and would tie the game at 2-2 on Roman Kantserov's fourth goal of the season.

Florida would shut down a 5-on-3 power play for Chicago late in the second period and once again the penalty kill was superb. After 40 minutes the game was still tied at two, Florida would carry over a short power play into the final period.

As the kids say, Lars Eller has been "low key" superb in his first year with the Panthers. Eller moved up to the third line against Chicago and rewarded his coach for the vote of confidence with the game winning goal with just 2:23 remaining.

Florida ended their two-game skid with a gritty victory on the road, and Schmid would lock in and finish with 20 saves on 22 shots faced. Former Panther Spencer Knight stopped 29 out of 32 shots. Seth Jones added an assist against his former team and now has 11 on the season.

Florida had struggled in the face-off circle recently but was much improved in this one, and the penalty kill was perfect in seven short-handed situations.

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David Eversole
DAVID EVERSOLE

David Eversole has covered local sports in South Florida for over a decade, starting with his independent site the Miami Sports Wave (MSW). He joined Five Reasons Sports in the early days with a YouTube show based on MSW called the Miami Sports Break, and has contributed as a producer, host, and guest on multiple Five Reasons outlets. David has produced hundreds of shows for the network - including PrizePicks daily fantasy content and shows covering the Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers, and Miami Hurricanes. In 2026, David returned to his writing roots to cover the Florida Panthers for Sports Illustrated online. David is a lifelong Floridian and currently lives with his family in Delray Beach.

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