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Evgenii Dadonov also scored for Florida, which
won its sixth game in a row. The hat trick for Vatrano was his
first since Dec. 18, 2015, when he was a rookie with the Boston
Bruins.
The victory capped an emotional evening for Panthers head coach
Joel Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cup championships with
the Blackhawks before he was fired early last season.
Quenneville received a standing ovation and video tribute in his
first return to Chicago as an opposing coach.
Kirby Dach, Drake Caggiula and Patrick Kane each scored for
Chicago, whose five-game winning streak ended.
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves to earn his
second win in as many nights.
Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner allowed four goals on 26
shots.
Florida opened the scoring 4:43 into the second period when
Dadonov netted his team-high 23rd goal of the season. He poked
in a rebound from the right side of the crease to give him a
goal in each of his past four games.
Ninety-one seconds later, Vatrano doubled the lead on a wrist
shot from the right circle. Mike Hoffman parked near the front
of the net and provided a partial screen on the shot.
Vatrano scored again midway through the second period to make it
3-0. He turned to his wrist shot again, this time from the left
circle, and beat Lehner between his leg pads.
The Blackhawks cut the deficit to 3-1 with 6:27 remaining in the
second period. Dach scored on a backhand shot for his seventh
goal of the season and his first since Dec. 21.
Vatrano completed the hat trick on a power play in the final
minute of the second period to put the Panthers on top 4-1. He
battled for position near the crease and redirected a pass from
Hoffman for his third goal of the night and his 14th of the
season.
A power-play goal by Caggiula pulled the Blackhawks within 4-2
at the four-minute mark of the third period. Defenseman Erik
Gustafsson blasted a one-timer that Caggiula deflected into the
net for his sixth goal.
Chicago cut it to 4-3 when Kane scored his 25th goal with an
extra attacker on the ice with 1:15 to play.
--Field Level Media
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