Mrazek makes 32 saves, Blackhawks defeat Panthers to end 3-game skid

CHICAGO -- Petr Mrazek made 32 saves to help the Chicago Blackhawks end a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers at United Center on Thursday.

Mrazek returned to the lineup after missing Chicago's 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday for personal reasons.

“We set the tone early in the first period, had to score a huge power-play goal,” Mrazek said. “And then the penalty kill finished it. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Teuvo Teravainen, Craig Smith and Nick Foligno scored for the Blackhawks (7-12-1).

“Yeah, it was really good,” said Chicago coach Luke Richardson. “I think we’ve done well against some of the top teams, and obviously this is the top team, and they don’t let up. From the first shift it was pressure, even at the start of the second [they] put us under some pressure, but Petr was excellent to give us a chance to break out of those pressure points. I thought special teams were great, and that was the difference.”

Sam Reinhart scored to extend his point streak to 12 games for the Panthers (12-7-1), who have lost two in a row and four of five. Spencer Knight made 17 saves.

“I didn’t like our start,” said Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling. “I think we worked our way in, but not the start we wanted. I feel like we need to be ready when the puck drops. We made some simple mistakes, and it cost us a little bit. After that, I think we came back and played a little better game and just got back to our game.”

Teravainen put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 2:46 of the first period. Tyler Bertuzzi’s shot from off the crease was stopped by Knight, and Teravainen put in the rebound.

Smith made it 2-0 on a breakaway at 10:07 of the second period. Patrick Maroon hit Smith with a pass from the neutral zone. Smith skated in and scored on a backhander.

“Yeah, really nice pass,” Smith said. “I mean, [Maroon is] a great player. He sees the ice well. He has great instincts out there. it was a good look by him.”

Reinhart brought the Panthers to within 2-1 at 10:41 after he took a pass from Aaron Ekblad and put the puck in from the right face-off circle. It was Reinhart’s 15th goal of the season, tying for the NHL lead with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers.

“Well, it did [give us momentum],” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We had a bunch of extended zone time. We’re going to be over five minutes of possession in the zone. I’m not worried about that. It wasn’t the game. This is bigger. This is a five-game block. We’ve played one we like, and that’s not good enough for us.

“We turned five pucks over in the neutral zone that were not contested turnovers. You can’t forecheck turnovers, so I think that got us into a bit of trouble. And then there was an awful lot of stuff that we left, were late on a whole bunch of things out there.”

Foligno scored an empty-net goal at 19:00 for the 3-1 final.

“I just think we had a commitment to winning hockey tonight,” Foligno said. “You know, it wasn't perfect. It never really is, but it's just you're not making blatant errors and taking the life out of your own game. I think that's where we were better tonight. They still make a push, and we probably could clean things up a little bit in a second, but we find a way not to give up and give in. And I think that's the big message here tonight is, it's great, and we're really excited about winning, and let's do it again.”

NOTES: Reinhart’s point streak is his second longest in the NHL behind a 13-game run in 2023-24. … Forward Philipp Kurashev was a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks for the second time this season. … Forward Connor Bedard’s goal drought reached 11 games. Bedard had no shots on goal in 19:32 of ice time.