Blackhawks 2, Panthers 3 – Three stars, takeaways

After seeing the Panthers put a banner in the rafters, the puck dropped in the 2025-2026 NHL season. The Blackhawks skated with their speed and moved the puck, but the shot totals were dominated by Florida early on. Frank Nazar scored the first NHL goal of the season, which was lovely. But Florida got the next two, the second of which came on the power play. AJ Greer and Carter Verhaeghe scored almost exactly three minutes apart.

The Blackhawks, however, came out of the room in full swing to start the second period. Ilya Mikheev got a breakaway that was denied, but moments later Teuvo Teräväinen tied the game at two just 69 seconds into the middle period. Natural Stat Trick gave the Blackhawks a 20-14 advantage on Corsi and 10-5 scoring chances for the advantage in the second period. The game was tied at two and the Blackhawks’ speed was clearly a problem for the Panthers.

Chicago made a change to start the third period, moving Mikheyev Ryan Donatois on the first line. In the middle of the period, Jesper Boqvist beat Tyler Bertuzzi in front of the net and tapped in a puck that was about waist high to give Florida a 3-2 lead.

Star 1: Spencer Knight

Knight had to be very good in the first half to keep the game close. He stopped 15 of 17 in the first 20 minutes, including some very good saves on difficult chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, first-half shot attempts favored Florida 35-10, and the Panthers had 19 scoring opportunities (9 high-danger). This is not ideal. He was perfect against nine shots in the second period. Knight was spectacular with a lot of scrappy defense in front of him.

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Star 2: Teräväinen — Nazar — Bertuzzi

Nazar’s line was dominated in box scoring (12-1 Corsi For at even strength in the first), but Nazar’s speed and hands allowed the Blackhawks to get on the board first. That speed showed early in the second period as he led a 2-on-1 with Teräväinen that tied the game. Bertuzzi had assists on both goals, giving the entire line two points early in the second period.

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Star 3: Ethan Del Mastro

You know who I haven’t noticed much in the game? Del Mastro. While the two youngest defenders combined for nine gifts – five for Sam Rinzelfour for Artyom Levshunov — and Rinzel was on the ice for three straight goals after Game 1, Del Mastro quietly racked up ice time without making any glaring errors. When the dust settled, he led the team in hits (6), was credited with two blocked shots and had the fourth-most playing time among Blackhawks defensemen (17:35). He put a shot on goal, scored a giveaway and finished the match with the score at zero; he was on the ice for the winning goal. The Blackhawks want him to play physical, mistake-free hockey (as much as possible) and he did that for the most part tonight.

Key takeaways

• Wyatt Kaiser I had a very good night. He put two shots on goal, blocked one shot and was credited with four hits in 16:34.

• The Blackhawks finished with 20 shots on goal. Half of them (10) came from defenders.

• As I’ve been saying for a while now, there will be a lot of learning moments for the Blackhawks’ young defensemen early in the season. The Blackhawks’ best defensive pair, Rinzel and Matt Grzelcyk were on the ice for one Blackhawks shot compared to a team-high seven shots at even strength in the first period.

• Rinzel had a tough time. He ran a season-high 25:18 and led the team with four blocked shots, but also led the team in giveaways. He made a great shot in the final seconds that was off the mark. An evening of learning for Rinzel.

• Levshunov was cut for hooking at 6:58 of the first period, earning the NHL’s first two penalty minutes of the season. The Blackhawks killed the penalty.

• Levshunov also took the second penalty of the season, a trip 12:26 into the first. The Blackhawks did not kill this penalty.

• Faceoffs were an issue at times during the preseason, but the Panthers were without Aleksander Barkov, so I was paying attention to that area (I still do, but no Barkov had my eyes anymore). Jason Dickinson won 4 of 9 faceoffs in the first period. Connor Bedard won 2 of 11. Anton Lundell won all six of his draws for Florida. The Panthers won 19 of 26 games in the first half.

• At the end of two periods, Dickinson had won 6 of 13 faceoffs. Bédard won 2 of 12 ties. Florida won 31 of 44 ties in the first 40 minutes.

• Nick Foligno dropped the gloves with Greer late in the first period. Good fight. I’ll give the decision to Foligno in the first NHL fight of the season.

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