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Jeremy Colliton will follow a “Goldilocks” principle as he increases ice time for Blackhawks young players in the 2021 season’s final games.
“You want to try and give them just the right amount,” the Hawks coach said. “Not too little, not too much.”
In the Hawks’ 5-4 loss to the Panthers on Saturday, that meant the usual candidates still led the team in ice time, but the distribution was more even across the board.
For example, a power play unit of Kirby Dach, Brandon Hagel, Philipp Kurashev, Vinnie Hinostroza and Wyatt Kalynuk a group with three rookies and an average age of 22.4 scored the Hawks’ third goal.
Panthers hold on for 5-4 win over Blackhawks
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Anthony Duclair and Aleksander Barkov combined for three goals and five points as the Florida Panthers posted a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in their final road game of the regular season.
Duclair opened the scoring at the 7:54 mark when he exited the penalty box and received a headman pass from Sam Bennett after a Gustav Forsling shot block. Duclair skated down the left boards, rounded the net, bulled his way through Wyatt Kalynuk along the right boards before working his way into the upper right circle and beating Kevin Lankinen.
Bennett lifts Panthers to 4-3 overtime win over Blackhawks
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Sam Bennett scored with 52 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the penultimate road game of the 2020-21 season for the playoff-bound Cats.
Bennett took a bounce pass off the boards from MacKenize Weegar at his own blue line and skated all the way down the ice unimpeded before slinging a rising wrist shot over Kevin Lankinen’s glove from the top portion of the left circle.
SAM BENNETT (@SBennett93) OVERTIME WINNER!
This game between the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks had a little bit of everything.
An overtime thriller, the Panthers come out winners with a 4-3 victory. With the loss, the Blackhawks’ record against the Panthers moves to 2-3-2 on the season. Chicago gains a point in the standings with the overtime loss, moving them to 50 points on the year and a 22-22-6 record.
Kevin Lankinen got the start for the Blackhawks tonight, needing a bounce-back performance after being pulled from his last two starts. Even though the Blackhawks couldn’t help him get the win, had that type of bounce-back performance, stopping 35 of 39 shots in the overtime loss. His record moves to 16-13-5 on the season.
Bennett scores in overtime, Panthers edge Blackhawks
Sam Bennett scored at 4:08 of overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. The win kept Florida two points behind first-place Carolina and one ahead of third-place Tampa Bay in the tight Central Division.
The Canadian Press
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CHICAGO Sam Bennett scored at 4:08 of overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Bennett beat Kevin Lankinen with a rising shot over the glove from the slot for his ninth goal after the Blackhawks had dominated in overtime and tested 20-year-old Florida goaltender Spencer Knight, who played in just this third NHL game.