SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Aaron Ekblad came back, and the Florida Panthers made an emphatic return to their winning ways.
Against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, no less.
Roberto Luongo stopped 27 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, Ekblad scored in his first game back after recovering from a concussion and the Panthers easily handled the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Friday night to snap a four-game slide.
“You talk about playing the Stanley Cup champs and we haven’t played our best games lately,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. “I thought tonight we came out and played a sound game, good defensively, really skated, really moved the puck. We have to play our best game and that brought the best out of us tonight, playing that team.”
Florida had lost its last eight meetings with Chicago, last beating the Blackhawks on March 8, 2011. Chicago outscored Florida 25-11 in those games.