LDN - Sports

Blackhawks outlast Flyers after coughing up big lead

[October 19, 2016] CHICAGO -- Just when it appeared Marian Hossa's 500th career goal appeared to give them more than enough breathing room, the Chicago Blackhawks found themselves fighting just to hang on.

As it turned out, the Blackhawks had a little something left when it mattered most.

Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov each scored twice and added late goals as the Blackhawks rallied to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 on Tuesday night at the United Center.

Panarin's second goal came with less than four minutes to play after Anisimov snapped a 4-4 tie with a wrist shot at the 10:24 mark of the third period. Anisimov added an empty-netter to cap the scoring.

The three goals came after the Blackhawks (2-2) had allowed four straight goals.

"The games go both ways," Anisimov said. "But it's a good thing -- we (found) a way to score after (giving up the three straight goals), and get it done and get the two points for us. It's most important thing."

Hossa, who became the 44th player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal plateau, left the game in the third period after being hit by a puck while blocking a shot. Hossa left the Blackhawks bench and watched his team's furious finish from the dressing room.

"It's tough to give up four goals in a row obviously," said Hossa, who said he was OK after being forced from the game. "That's a lesson for us. But on the other hand, we end up winning the game which is huge and it's a big victory."

Hossa's milestone goal gave Chicago a 4-0 lead after the veteran right-winger came with only three seconds remaining on a power play at 5:04 of the second period. Hossa received a standing ovation after the score, which chased Flyers' starting goalie Michal Neuvirth in favor of Steve Mason. Neuvirth gave up the four goals on 16 shots.

"Obviously, doing it at home in front of our fans, I couldn't be happier," Hossa said.

But the Flyers erased a four-goal deficit after Wayne Simmonds pounded a power-play rebound past Corey Crawford with 3:49 gone in the third period. Philadelphia (1-1-1) got to within 4-3 with a pair of goals in a span of 1 minute, 17 seconds after entering the period trailing by three.

"We've always been a team that's been able to come back," Simmonds said. "Obviously, that's not the situation you want to be in but we made a good push, but we turned the puck over a couple too many times."

Matt Read scored his second goal of the night just 37 seconds into the third period before Sean Couturier followed with a backhand that got past Crawford, who finished with 23 saves.

Philadelphia got to within 4-1 with 1:37 remaining in the period when Read scored on a power-play goal as the Blackhawks' penalty-killing unit's season-long struggles continued.

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Blackhawks center Dennis Rasmussen (70) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The late score sparked the Flyers over the first 10 minutes of the third period before the Blackhawks responded with the three straight goals.

"I think we have a positive vibe on the bench and things were just going who was going to get the next lucky bounce," Read said.

The Blackhawks got the bounce they needed when the Philadelphia turnover led to Anisimov's go-ahead goal.

"We'll take the win," Blackhawks' coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Blackhawks used a first-period scoring flurry to build a 3-0 advantage. After being held without a goal for the first three games of the season, Patrick Kane used a wraparound goal off a rebound 56 seconds in to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.

Dennis Rasmussen extended the lead later in the period after he took advantage of defenseman Ivan Provorov losing his footing in the Blackhawks zone. Panarin finished off the first-period scoring 13 seconds into a power play when he took a pass from Brent Seabrook and fired a one-timer past Neuvirth.

NOTES: Flyers F Roman Lyubimov made his NHL debut Tuesday night. The Russian, who signed out of the Kontinental Hockey League during the offseason, was a healthy scratch in the Flyers' first two games and debuted on coach Dave Hakstol's fourth line. ... C Nick Cousins was a healthy scratch for the Flyers while D Radko Gudas and C Brayden Schenn (suspensions) were also scratched. ... Blackhawks rookie F Ryan Hartman missed his second straight game with a lower body injury. Hartman said at Tuesday's morning skate that he hoped to return to the lineup Friday against Columbus. "We've got a really good medical staff here," Hartman told reporters Tuesday morning. "They did everything they needed to do, and luckily found out it wasn't too serious. (I'm) looking forward to getting back to being game-ready."... D Michal Rozsival and D Trevor van Riemsdyk were scratches for Chicago.

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