Sandis Vilmanis Scores Twice, Seth Jones Beats Former Team as Panthers Top Blackhawks 5-3 to Close Homestand

Sandis Vilmanis scored twice for the first two-goal game of his NHL career and added two assists, Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists, and the Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Wednesday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise to finish a three-game homestand. Seth Jones scored against his former team, beating the goalie he was traded for, and Carter Verhaeghe had a power-play goal and an assist.

The win moved Florida to 9-5-2 with 20 points. The Panthers are 4-1-0 in their last five games and 7-3-0 in their past 10, and they improved to 9-0-1 this season when allowing three goals or fewer, according to the Associated Press. Chicago fell to 4-11-1.

Vilmanis' big night

Vilmanis, playing his 34th career NHL game, had the first multipoint game of his career, according to NHL.com. He opened the scoring 4:43 into the first period on the rush. Chicago turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and Reinhart found Vilmanis at the back door for his second goal of the season.

He set up Jones for Florida's third goal in the second period, then restored a two-goal lead with 8:59 left in the third. That sequence began when Ian Cole blocked a point shot by Niko Mikkola, Verhaeghe stripped the puck from Cole and Vilmanis beat Spencer Knight under the right arm, according to NHL.com. Vilmanis capped the night by assisting on Reinhart's empty-net goal.

"It means everything," Vilmanis said, according to NHL.com. "It's a special night that I will remember for sure."

Florida's top line of Verhaeghe, Reinhart and Vilmanis combined for four goals and five assists. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the trio were good at both ends, and Vilmanis finished plus-3 in 13:32 of ice time, according to ESPN's box score. "They were responsible and I really liked the way all three played," Maurice said, according to NHL.com.

Reinhart traced the offense back to the team's defensive pressure. "I think we were on our toes from the start," he said, according to NHL.com. "When our 'D' are aggressive, it's because our forwards are allowing them to be in there."

Jones scores against the goalie he was traded for

Verhaeghe made it 2-0 on the power play at 12:29 of the first period, one-timing a pass from Brady Tkachuk past Knight at the back post. Matthew Tkachuk started the play by feeding his brother, so both Tkachuks picked up assists on the goal, according to NHL.com.

Jones pushed the lead to 3-0 at 13:20 of the second, taking a cross-ice pass from Vilmanis and snapping a wrist shot from the right circle under Knight's pad. It was Jones' third goal of the season and his first against the Blackhawks, who traded him to Florida in the deal that sent Knight, the Panthers' former goalie, to Chicago, according to the AP.

Knight finished with 25 saves on 29 shots. Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves on 20 shots for Florida.

Chicago's comeback push

The Blackhawks got on the board at 16:48 of the second when Roman Kantserov scored. Connor Bedard won a puck battle with Lars Eller and passed to Ethan Del Mastro, whose shot deflected off Gustav Forsling's skate and Markstrom's arm, according to NHL.com. Kantserov extended his point streak to six games.

Frank Nazar made it 3-2 at 9:31 of the third, scoring short-handed on a breakaway with a backhand over Markstrom's right pad. After Vilmanis answered, Nazar scored again with 3:51 left on a wrist shot from the right point, pulling Chicago within 4-3. Reinhart sealed it with an empty-net goal, his ninth of the season, with 1:27 remaining.

Del Mastro had two assists, his first points of the season and the first multipoint game of his career, according to the AP, and Bedard also had two assists. The Blackhawks are 1-6-1 in their last eight games and winless in four straight (0-3-1).

"We shot ourselves in the foot sometimes," Bedard said, according to NHL.com. "We played really well in stretches. It's about consistency."

Chicago coach Jeff Blashill was blunter. "It's too hard of a League to give away free goals," he said, according to NHL.com.

By the numbers

The Panthers outshot Chicago 30-20 and outhit the Blackhawks 28-12, according to ESPN's box score. Brady Tkachuk led all players with eight hits, and Garnet Hathaway had seven. Florida converted one of its three power plays, while Chicago went 0 for 3 with the man advantage but scored once short-handed.

The scoring, from ESPN's play-by-play and NHL.com:

Reinhart's goal was his 198th with Florida, tying Jonathan Huberdeau for second in franchise history behind Aleksander Barkov's 286, according to NHL.com. Reinhart has eight points during a five-game point streak, and Verhaeghe has seven points during his own five-game streak. The Panthers have now won 10 straight home games against Chicago, their longest active home streak against any opponent, and they swept the two-game season series after a 3-2 win at United Center on Oct. 25.

Injuries

Mikkola left at 2:33 of the third period after a Bedard shot hit his right leg. He returned for one shift before leaving for good, but Maurice said the defenseman was expected to be fine. "He's a little sore tonight," Maurice said, according to NHL.com.

Florida continues to play without Barkov and Brad Marchand, both listed on injured reserve with knee injuries in ESPN's injury report, along with Jonah Gadjovich (upper body).

What's next

The Panthers open a road stretch Saturday at Washington, with a 12:30 p.m. Eastern start, then visit Boston on Sunday afternoon, according to ESPN's schedule. Florida does not play at home again until Detroit visits on Thursday, Nov. 12. The Blackhawks head across the state to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.