The Florida Panthers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday. Florida improved to 7-4-2 and ended its four-game road trip with two consecutive wins. The Panthers scored three power-play goals on five opportunities.
Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring at 7:27 of the first period during an early Florida power play. Niko Mikkola made it 2-0 at 8:42 when his shot from the slot ricocheted off a defender’s stick and entered the net. Verhaeghe scored again at 10:18 on a power play, converting a one-timer from the high slot after a feed from Matthew Tkachuk.
The two goals made Verhaeghe the 13th player in Panthers franchise history with at least 30 power-play goals. Seth Jones recorded an assist on all three Florida goals in the first period. His performance matched a franchise record for assists by a defenseman in one period and gave him his fourth career three-assist period, making him the 14th defenseman in NHL history with four such periods.
Panthers answer Winnipeg’s second-period goal
Adam Lowry put Winnipeg on the board at 12:27 of the second period. Officials determined after a video review that the puck crossed the goal line. Sam Reinhart restored Florida’s three-goal advantage 47 seconds later by scoring on the power play to make it 4-1.
Reinhart’s goal moved him into fifth place on Florida’s all-time scoring list with 395 points. Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk combined for seven points, including two goals and five assists. Matthew Tkachuk also became the fastest player in Panthers history to reach 200 assists.
Brady Tkachuk completed the scoring at 12:10 of the third period on a cross-ice feed from Matthew. Akira Schmid stopped all seven shots he faced in the final period. Schmid also made seven high-danger saves, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Florida closes road trip with back-to-back wins
Jones became the fourth Panthers defenseman with at least 14 assists in a single month. Florida’s special-teams performance helped produce three goals on five power-play chances. The Panthers also finished the trip with two straight victories after improving to 7-4-2.
Florida will host Winnipeg for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will give the Panthers a home meeting with the Jets shortly after their road-trip finale. Florida enters that rematch after scoring five goals and converting three power-play opportunities in Winnipeg.
FSB Take
Florida’s power play was the clearest difference in the victory, producing three goals on five chances. Verhaeghe’s two goals and Jones’ three-assist first period gave the Panthers an early cushion that Winnipeg could not overcome. The Friday rematch will test whether Florida can sustain that special-teams execution against the same opponent.
Source: Original report