Ice Breaker: Vilmanis goes for four, Kempe and Panarin carve up San Jose
Florida survives a messy third against Chicago, the Kings put seven on the Sharks, and Seattle wins in overtime in 55 seconds.
Sandis Vilmanis came into Wednesday with three points in 14 games. He left with seven, and the Panthers needed every one of them to hold off a Chicago team that had won once in its last five.
Four games, a hat trick and four assists in Los Angeles, and one overtime winner in Seattle that took 55 seconds.
Panthers 5, Blackhawks 3
Vilmanis scored at 4:43 of the first and again at 11:01 of the third, and set up Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart. Florida led 3-0 before Roman Kantserov scored late in the second.
Frank Nazar then scored twice in the third, the first one shorthanded, and it was 4-3 until Reinhart hit the empty net at 18:33. Pabs has the full recap with Maurice's postgame.
Pabs: Two goals and two assists in 13:34 is what a kid looks like when he stops asking permission. The third period is another story, and Saturday in Washington is the time to fix it.
Lind's read: Florida outshot Chicago 30-20 and still needed an empty-netter. Jacob Markstrom stopped 17 of 20, and he's at .864 over his last five starts, per NHL data.
Sully's chirp: The Panthers gave up a shorthanded goal while protecting a two-goal lead. That's like locking your car and leaving the keys on the hood.
Adrian Kempe scored at 1:23 and 16:09 of the first and finished the hat trick on the power play in the second. Artemi Panarin had four assists, and Quinton Byfield scored twice on the power play. Macklin Celebrini and Ivar Stenberg scored on San Jose's power play.
Sully's chirp: San Jose outshot Los Angeles 32-27 and lost by five. That's not a hockey game, that's a group project where one guy did all the work and still got a C.
Senators 2, Sabres 1
Peyton Krebs gave Buffalo the lead in the second. Shane Pinto tied it at 11:33 of the third, and Michael Amadio won it at 16:51, with Tim Stützle on the assist. Samuel Ersson stopped 23 of 24.
Lind's read: Neither team scored on two power plays, and Ottawa outshot Buffalo 30-24. Ersson is at .873 over his last five starts, per NHL data, so a 23-save night is one he needed.
Kraken 2, Flames 1 (OT)
Yegor Sharangovich put Calgary up in the first. Berkly Catton tied it in the second, and Matty Beniers ended it 55 seconds into overtime off a Brandon Montour feed. Joey Daccord stopped 25 of 26.
Sully's chirp: Calgary had one power play all night. Dustin Wolf made 27 saves and the reward was a ride to the airport.
Three stars of the night
- Adrian Kempe, LAK: three goals and an assist in a 7-2 win.
- Sandis Vilmanis, FLA: two goals and two assists in 13:34.
- Artemi Panarin, LAK: four assists, all of them on Kempe and Byfield goals.
By our count
Connor Bedard had two assists in Sunrise and has a point in seven straight games, by our count. Berkly Catton's tying goal also made it seven straight for him. Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe are each on five-game point streaks.
Lind's number of the night
0. That's Chicago's road wins this season, per NHL data. The Blackhawks are in Tampa tonight on the second half of a back-to-back, and the Lightning haven't lost a home game in regulation.
Sully's take of the morning
Look, the Kings have a guy who scored a hat trick and a guy who had four assists, and the guy with the hat trick wasn't the most fun part. Panarin set up four goals and passed like the puck owed him money.
Grade: A for LA, F for the Sharks' penalty kill. Celebrini had a power-play goal and five shots. Buddy, I'm begging you, someone help the kid.
Tonight
Eleven games, no Panthers. Chicago visits Tampa at 7 with Bedard's streak, and the Lightning are -395 at DraftKings. Boston is at Pittsburgh at 7, and Carolina visits the Islanders at 7 on ESPN+.
The one to watch is Anaheim at Edmonton at 8 on Prime Video. Connor McDavid has a point in all 16 games, by our count, and the Oilers are 7-0 on the road, per NHL data. Nashville closes it at Colorado at 9:30. Florida is back Saturday at 12:30 in Washington. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
