SUNRISE - Brady Tkachuk scored his second natural hat trick in as many games Thursday, completing a 3-2 overtime comeback win against the Vancouver Canucks at Amerant Bank Arena and giving the Florida Panthers their first two-game winning streak of the 2026-27 season.
Tkachuk scored two unanswered goals in the third period to tie the game and force overtime, then added the winner in the extra frame - a sequence that masked what has become a persistent early-season pattern for Florida, according to Florida Hockey Now. Through eight games, the Panthers have scored the opening goal just once, a 1-0 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes in the season opener, and had not held a third-period lead until Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Thursday’s deficit was particularly frustrating given how Florida played. The Panthers dominated the opening frame against Vancouver yet found themselves down 2-0 after the first period. Head coach Paul Maurice acknowledged the recurring problem without treating it as a crisis. “We talked about this before the game,” Maurice said. “Sometimes, when you’re on the road, you take it a little bit. So, it’s not that big of a deal. But we need to be strong in the first.”
Defenseman Seth Jones was more direct about the cost of the slow starts. “We would love to come out and get the first goal, it just has not gone that way for us,” Jones said. “It is hard when you are chasing it every night, trying to come from behind every game. You don’t want to open the game up, and that’s not the way we play. We got off to a great start tonight, we just couldn’t get the first one. But, getting that first one is important to how we set up our entire game.”
Despite the pattern, Florida has shown resilience. The Panthers have earned at least a point in five of the seven games in which they have trailed, winning three of those outright - a record that suggests the deficit habit is manageable for now, though Jones’ comments indicate the locker room is not comfortable with it.
The Panthers host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Amerant Bank Arena, with local television coverage on Scripps Sports - WSFL 39 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach, and LAFF 36.3 in Southwest Florida. Radio coverage is available on WQAM, WBZT 1230-AM in Palm Beach, WCTH 100.3-FM in the Florida Keys, and SiriusXM. Seattle leads the all-time regular season series 6-2-2, with last season ending tied 1-1. Florida’s next road game follows Wednesday at the Ottawa Senators at 7:30 p.m.