SUNRISE, Fla. — Landon Slaggert set a new Chicago Blackhawks record for the fastest goal scored, but the Hawks lost momentum almost as quickly in a 5-1 thrashing by the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Ryan Donato won the opening faceoff and dumped the puck in, then Slaggert outraced Nate Schmidt and Uvis Balinskis to the puck before slipping it past Sergei Bobrovsky five-hole.
Seven seconds from puck drop.
That mark broke Brent Sutter’s previous record for fastest score from the start of a game: eight seconds on Feb. 5, 1995, in Vancouver.
That quick start could only do so much for the Hawks on Saturday.
“We scored right away, but then (we were) on our heels, they came at us in waves and (we) had a hard time stopping that bleeding,” said Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen.
The Hawks only recorded two more shots on goal for the rest of the period — despite having a power play — part of a troubling trend.
The Hawks spent the bulk of the period hemmed in, getting out-chanced 27-5 (all strengths) in the first period, and it didn’t level out until the third.
Jonah Gadjovich put the Panthers on the board 5 minutes, 28 seconds into the first period, but Petr Mrázek protested after A.J. Greer made contact.
The Hawks challenged but the goal was upheld.
Sam Reinhart scored his 30th goal before the first intermission, scoring through Connor Bedard’s stick. Reinhart became the first Panther with four straight 30-goal seasons.
In the second period, Matthew Tkachuk deflected a Reinhart shot in to make it 3-1.
Then Evan Rodrigues scored 10 seconds into the third.
On a third-period power play, the Panthers made Swiss cheese of the Hawks’ penalty kill en route to a Carter Verhaeghe back-door goal.
“We were bad to start the game like we’ve been for a little while,” Connor Murphy said. “It’s just a combination of a lot of things.”
Slaggert acknowledged the Panthers, “put a lot of pressure on you, but they also move the puck really quick and make it hard to close on them.
“They did a great job, but we’ve got to be better in those areas.”
Here are four takeaways.
1. The three highest shot totals — by opponents — have all occurred since January.
The Panthers’ 44 shots on goal have only been eclipsed by the Carolina Hurricanes’ 48 on Jan. 20.
The Nashville Predators (41), Tampa Bay Lightning (40) and Montreal Canadiens (40) have all hit the 40-shot mark within the last 30 days.
The Hawks’ schedule has brought a lot of playoff contenders in midseason form who are capable of high shot volume.
“We’re not defending well,” Murphy said. “I just don’t know if we’re thinking defend-first and then go for offense. It feels like we’ve slipped away from being really responsible initially, coming into our end, and our execution hasn’t been there from all of us.”
The more teams ramp up the attack, the more the Hawks tend to turtle.
“We get on our heels a little bit and get passive, and then they find those lanes to shoot and get pucks through those areas,” Sorensen said.
The Panthers and Hurricanes “are top in the league of funneling shots and getting shots,” he said. “So that’s obviously tough when you’re not on our toes.”
2. Connor Murphy’s return to action goes south.
The veteran defenseman was activated from injured reserve (groin) before the game and paired with T.J. Brodie.
Murphy said his body felt good.
He said his recovery was “a little bit” difficult.
“I’ve noticed that a lot of injuries lately, it feels like you think you’re out for a week or so and it turns into weeks,” Murphy said. “They’re always frustrating, and just trying to stay present through those times and get better.”
Louis Crevier took a hard shot to the head midway through the first period, so the Hawks had to rely on five defensemen the rest of the way.
“It keeps everyone in,” Murphy said. “It changed your game a little bit of making sure you’re keeping your energy and you’re really getting your breath in between your shifts, because you’re out there quick.”
Murphy was on the ice for three of the Panthers’ goals, though only the Tkachuk tip-in was right in front of him.
“It was lucky to hit Tkachuk’s stick,” he said. “I was trying to just shade (the) back side. I could have probably stayed more net-front to block it.
“It’s hard to get into a physical box-out the whole shift because they’re passing it around, so you’ve got to try to time it right.”
Incidentally, Alex Vlasic was on the ice for three goals as well, and his fumbling of the puck on a retrieval preceded Rodrigues’ goal.
Sorensen said, “Maybe he’s the one that gets exposed, but I think it’s more of a group thing. There needs to be layers to help.”
3. Slaggert didn’t know he made history at first.
“I just heard it, actually,” Slaggert said. “Ryan Donato, he was saying in the little pile there that it might be the fastest.
“But, yeah, it’s kind of funny to hear.”
After Donato won the faceoff and chipped the puck up, Slaggert burst in front of two Panthers defenders and beat Bobrovsky.
“I was just focused on getting some pressure on their defensemen,” he said. “The puck kind of just squared to an area, and I saw that I could get on it first and just caught a break, but ended up working out and got a chance.”
It’s Slaggert’s second goal in his third game since being recalled from Rockford on Jan. 26.
“He flies,” Murphy said. “He’s made a real impact since he got back here, and that’s why he was able to score so fast.
“To be able to jump through defensemen that quick off the draw, it’s hard for them to get on him and break it up.”
Slaggert was at a loss for words about setting a new franchise record.
“It’s pretty wild,” he said. “Just kind of just happened pretty quick.”
4. The youth-versus-experience debate never gets old.
The Hawks veterans may be thinking it, but Taylor Hall said it — once he was in a different uniform.
The Hawks “wanted to play young guys, they wanted to play guys up in the lineup,” said the former Hawks forward from his stall in the Carolina Hurricanes locker room a few days ago.
Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen subtly retorted, “I’m not sure if we’re looking exactly what age you are, but if you’re playing well, and you’re contributing the way we’re expected to, then you’ll get your opportunities, right?”
But Hall does raise a good question: Are veterans’ minutes sacrificed for the sake of young players?
I have no issue with how the ice time is distributed, at least for now.
Yes, the future should be the focus, but on occasion, young players can learn by watching as they can by playing.
Last season, young players got loads of ice time and it didn’t necessarily advance their development. Look at Lukas Reichel and Kevin Korchinski.
Sorensen said before the game Saturday, “It’s also you deserve to play, but a lot of times with young guys, too, sometimes it’s a reset — come out and come back in, right?
“It’s a long season. And some of these veteran guys that are playing well, too, they deserve to stay in. So I think there’s a balance there, for sure. And as long as (you) communicate with everybody, I think it’s fair.”