Landon Slaggert scored the fastest goal in Blackhawks history in a 5-1 loss against the Florida Panthers.

February opened with a bang, as Landon Slaggert scored the fastest goal in Chicago Blackhawks history seven seconds after puck drop. From that point on, the Florida Panthers dominated the game in a 5-1 Chicago loss.

It went all downhill from there. The one pump chumps got worked by the Panthers.

First Period

Seven seconds into the game, Landon Slaggert made Blackhawks history with the lone Blackhawks goal of the day.

The FASTEST goal in franchise history: pic.twitter.com/EKnRsBvAyY

— Four Feathers Podcast (@FourFeathersPod) February 1, 2025

Connor Bedard’s first shift was brutal. That applies to his whole line. The Panthers bullied them in their zone for 1:21. The Hawks couldn’t initiate the breakout. The Panthers worked them low-to-high, pulling them out of position. Florida got four shots off and missed on a wide open net.

That’s three minutes in, folks.

The Panthers scored after their powerplay was up. It looked like there was possible goaltender interference, but Jason Dickinson clearly pushed Florida’s A.J. Greer into Mrazek. Anders Sorensen still challenged the call and lost. Hawks go right back to the PK.

The Panthers’ second goal drew heavy criticism on Bedard from Mark Messier. Sure. He could have played his stick harder. But to bench him? Get out of here with that nonsense.

Louis Crevier went down after getting boarded. He didn’t return the rest of the game. On that power play, Bedard turned the puck over at the blue line leading to a shorthanded chance for the Panthers.

Panthers owned 81% of shot attempts (Corsi) and 89% of expected goals (xG%). Those are 5-on-5 numbers. All strengths shots on goal were 22-4.

Second Period

Frank Nazar had an ok play that I want to highlight for the sake of sprinkling in positives.

Nice burst of speed from Nazar. Gets overpowered by Rodrigues.#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/RO0BfDsu2R

— Steve K (@DirtyThird81) February 2, 2025

The Hawks picked up their shots on goal just before their second power play of the game, which yielded a fat zero for shots on goal.

Here’s a play that I want to look at. Why is T.J. Brodie joining the rush?

The Brodian flop-o-rama pic.twitter.com/498nbzPiF8

— Steve K (@DirtyThird81) February 2, 2025

Teuvo Teravainen passed the puck across the slot on a breakout which Sam Bennett nearly redirected for a goal. These guys were checked out mentally already.

A careless high-sticking penalty from Landon Slaggert killed an offensive zone entry by Bedard and Ryan Donato. A four-minute power play for the Panthers was negated thanks to an Evan Rodrigues penalty.

The Panthers scored their third goal of the game thanks to some solid defense tickle-work from Connor Murphy.

The Blackhawks had 12 shots on goal to the Panthers 14, and a 45 Corsi at 5-on-5.

Third Period

The Panthers scored 10 seconds into the period to create a 4-1 lead.

Bedard had a nice period to start. A one-timer didn’t get past Sergei Bobrovsky and Bedard had a nice forecheck. Below is a compilation of a few good plays from Bedard.

Some of Bedard's nice plays in the third period. pic.twitter.com/7hLdDzd5PF

— Steve K (@DirtyThird81) February 2, 2025

Florida scored their fifth goal of the game on the powerplay. They made quick work of the Blackhawks’ PK.

Murphy entered the zone and had an opportunity to pass or take a shot. Instead he did weird stuff.

Stat Line

• The Blackhawks finished with a 35 Corsi and a 29 xG% at 5-on-5. They were dominated in all areas of the game by the defending Stanley Cup champions, who took that first goal as an insult.
• The Hawks defense was pretty bad in this one. In the heat map below, you can see how they let the Panthers dominate in the slot.

• Bedard had seven shot attempts, three shots on goal, and three scoring chances. His defensive goof-up deserves criticism, sure. But why in the hell are we so caught up in his defense? Worry about his offense. Worry about his shots on goal. His defense will come.
• Lines were blended with Nazar getting bumped down. The Slagger-Bedard-Donato line only played 3:58 minutes of ice time, but had a 73 Corsi.
• Murphy played in his first game back since New Years’ Eve. It wasn’t good. He had a 21 Corsi, a 13 xG%, and an expected goals against of 1.66.
• I hope this game made it clear to General Manager Kyle Davidson that Anders Sorensen is not the coach for this team. Pairing slow defensemen together and sitting kids who can play more favorably to what Sorensen envisions is just one part of the problem.