Recap: Blackhawks drop season opener in Florida 3-2

The Chicago Blackhawks kicked off their centennial season with a clash against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Tuesday. With their second straight banner raised to the rafters, the Panthers opened the 2025-26 season without their captain, Aleksander Barkov, who will miss significant time following surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Still, a deep and talented lineup, which also played without Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek, would be a stern early test for the Hawks. Former Panther goaltender Spencer Knight started in net for the Hawks against the goaltender he once backed up, Sergei Bobrovsky.

First period

Frank Nazar scored the first goal of the NHL season on a breakaway to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead at 10:03. Tyler Bertuzzi flipped a nice pass to Nazar, who got behind the Panthers’ defensemen and skated in alone and scored.

Just 63 seconds later, A.J. Greer tied it up for the Panthers. A shot by Jonah Gadjovich was stopped by Knight, but Greer was there to pounce on the rebound to make it a 1-1 game at 11:06.

With Artyom Levshunov serving his second minor penalty of the period, Carter Verhaeghe cashed in with his first of the season. Mackie Samoskevich won the puck in the corner and fed Verhaeghe on the door step, who beat Knight top shelf to give Florida a 2-1 advantage, which they would take into the dressing room after 20 minutes. Florida claimed a huge 17-3 advantage in the shots on goal department after one.

Second period

The Hawks tied it early in the second when they broke out cleanly out of the defensive zone. Nazar found Teuvo Teravainen as they skated in 2-on-2 and “Turbo” fired one past Bobrovsky to tie it at 2-2 at 1:09. The game would remain tied after 40 minutes, as the Hawks played much better than the opening frame, especially defensively. The guests had a 10-9 advantage in shots on goal but trailed 26-13 after two.

Third period

Halfway through the third, Jesper Boqvist broke the tie with his first of the season. The Panthers broke out of the defensive zone and Evan Rodrigues fired a puck into the corner that bounced into the slot and Samoskevich backhanded a pass to Boqvist, who deflected it in midair past Knight for the goal at 9:40 to give Florida a 3-2 lead and they held on for the win.

Analysis

Following a rough first period, the Hawks played much better, especially defensively. The Panthers had a 37-21 advantage in shots on goal, so credit to Spencer Knight for keeping the Hawks in the game. As they learn new head coach Jeff Blashill’s system, the hope is they can decrease the number of shots allowed while increasing their scoring chances. Nazar was far and away the best skater for the Hawks, as he and his linemates, Bertuzzi and Teravainen, were buzzing and generated several scoring chances. Connor Bedard generated a few scoring opportunities of his own but will certainly need more from his linemates.

The Hawks return to the ice on Thursday night in Boston for an Original Six matchup with the Bruins. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on 720 WGN.