Barkov’s short-handed goal leads Panthers over Blackhawks

SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov scored a tiebreaking short-handed goal in the third period, and the Florida Panthers beat the slumping Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Monday night.

Barkov poked in a loose puck from right in front with 6:34 left. It was the Panthers’ first short-handed goal this season.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots and won his sixth straight start. Down 3-1, the Panthers scored five unanswered goals to win their fourth straight game.

Gustav Forsling scored his first goal of the season and had an assist. Owen Tippett scored his third goal in four games, and Aaron Ekblad also scored. Carter Verhaeghe and Alex Wennberg added empty-netters.

Patrick Kane, Philipp Kurashev and Brandon Hagel scored for the Blackhawks, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Kevin Lankinen made 28 saves.

Chicago opened a 3-1 lead on goals by Kurashev and Hagel in the second. The Panthers then rallied on goals by Ekblad and Forsling 62 seconds apart. Ekblad scored during a power play, and Forsling’s shot through traffic tied it at 3 with four minutes left in the period.

MILESTONE

Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar played his 200th NHL game.

Barkov played his 507th NHL game, passing Bill Lindsay for the 10th-most games played in a Panthers uniform.

Ekblad’s goal earns him his sixth career 10-goal season.

ATTENDANCE

The Panthers cap attendance at 5,000, or 25% capacity. The crowd was 4,512 for Monday’s game.

UP NEXT

The Blackhawks visit Tampa Bay on Thursday.

The Panthers host Nashville on Thursday.