The Florida Panthers scored five straight goals but still needed Sam Bennett’s tally with 15:58 remaining to put away the Vancouver Canucks in an 8-5 slugfest Monday in Sunrise, Fla.
Bennett’s fourth of the season put the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions up for good. Seth Jones scored twice for Florida, and A.J. Greer, Luke Kunin, Evan Rodrigues, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand each added a goal.
In all, 16 Panthers recorded at least a point, setting a team record as they scored eight goals in a game for the first time since Feb. 17, 2024, when they had nine against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Sam Reinhart registered the sixth three-assist game of his career. Carter Vergaeghe added two helpers, Marchand had one as he extended his point streak to 11 games, and Bennett also had an assist.
Even Sergei Bobrovsky got in on the action, with an assist on Jones’ first goal. The goalie made 10 saves and was aided by his Panther teammates, who blocked 20 shots.
Elias Pettersson scored twice for Vancouver, with Drew O’Connor, Jake DeBrusk and Filip Hronek also adding goals. Quinn Hughes continued his torrid stretch with another three-assist game, while Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane each notched a pair.
Jiri Patera, in an NHL net for the first time since March 26, 2024, made 33 saves for the Canucks.
Vancouver, one day after scoring the final six goals in a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay, took a 2-0 lead with 4:46 left in the first period on goals by O’Connor and DeBrusk just 24 seconds apart, with DeBrusk’s coming on the power play.
Just 36 seconds after DeBrusk scored, the Panthers’ barrage began as Greer scored. Jones’ first came on a power play with less than eight seconds to go in the opening period.
Kunin, Rodrigues and Lundell scored within the first 7:17 of the second period to put the Panthers up 5-2, but Pettersson got his first of the game just 38 seconds later.
He scored his second 1:24 into the third, and Hronek tied the game less than two minutes later on a power play.
After Bennett gave Florida the lead for good 48 seconds later, Jones added his second power-play goal at 11:41 and Marchand got an empty-netter with 1:46 left.
Hughes, with his three assists, now has a team-high 19 on the season. He joined Cale Makar, Roman Josi, Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey as the only defensemen with three or more assists in three straight games.
–Field Level Media
