Panthers claw Blackhawks, 4-3m in OT win

In Sunrise, the Chicago Blackhawks coughed up a 2-0 lead to the Florida Panthers on Friday night.

The Panthers rallied on three straight goals to take a 3-2 lad in the third period.

With 45 seconds left in regulation, Chicago’s Cole Guttman scored to tie the match, 3-3, and force extra time.

In the extra session, Brandon Montour scored the game-winner at 2:43 for a 4-3 win to the Panthers.

“We believe in ourselves,” Montour said. “We were getting chances and it was bound to happen.”

Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves in the Panthers win.

Florida improved to 33-27-6 on their third straight win.

“We were tight for two periods,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “There is a pressure in all of these games and we feel it every time we come to the rink. It was a must-win game, and you could feel it.

“We were not moving our feet; we were struggling to get things going. What they are good at, you saw on their first two goals. We were behind it then I think they relaxed, the pressure came off and they started to skate. These guys want to win so bad.”

Matthew Tkachuk had three assists for the Panthers.

“For sure there was frustration,” Tkachuk said. “Let’s be real here, that’s a team ranked 30th in the League. We needed the win more than they did. To be down 2-0 at any point in that game was frustrating.

“But we know they still have stuff to play for and those are tough games. It was not the start we wanted, but we did a good job in the third. We heard some boos there, but turned it around at the end and heard some cheers.”

Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the first period on strikes from Caleb Jones and Boris Katchouk .

With the win, the Panthers moved to within two points of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

“I think we started the game the way we wanted to,” Chicago defenseman Jarred Tinordi said. “We were moving our feet. We were making plays. We were playing a north-south game and then we just got away from it. In the third period, I think we stopped moving our feet, we started watching the play a little bit more, and it’s going to get you into trouble every time.”

The score stayed that way until Sam Bennett trimmed the lead to 2-1 n the ninth minute of the third period.

Chicago dropped to 22-37-6 off their sixth loss in seven games.

“They pushed, and we knew they were going to be desperate and push,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “They’re playing for a playoff spot. I thought we persevered on the 6-on-5 and never gave up. That’s been our kind of M.O. all year, and it’s really good to see the guys not get discouraged. I thought we stay composed and calm and did the job to get it to overtime, and unfortunately they got the bounce, but we had our chances in overtime.”

Sam Reinhart tied the game, 2-2, 29 seconds later on a power play strike

The Panthers took a 3-2 just about four minutes later on a marker from Eetu Luostarinen,.