WINNIPEG - The Florida Panthers closed out a four-game road trip with a dominant 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, going 3-for-5 on the power play and scoring three times in the first 11 minutes to put the game out of reach early.
The win improved Florida to 7-4-2 on the season and gave the Panthers back-to-back road victories to end the trip. Defenseman Seth Jones set a franchise record for most assists by a defenseman in a single period, recording three helpers in the first period alone - the fourth three-assist period of his career and a mark that makes him just the 14th defenseman in NHL history to reach that total.
“The power was clicking,” Jones said. “We’re moving it fast. I’m out there with four other great players, so just doing what I can, moving it to them. I’m just moving my feet and seeing plays when they’re there. Sometimes when the points are flowing, they’re flowing, and sometimes they’re not. Just trying to play a solid game.”
Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring at 7:27 on the power play, lifting a shot over Jets goaltender Clay Stevenson to make it 1-0. Niko Mikkola doubled the lead at 8:42 when a puck ricocheted off a defender’s stick and in, with Matthew Tkachuk picking up an assist - his point in 11 of 13 games this season. Verhaeghe then buried a one-timer from the high slot off a Tkachuk feed at 10:18 to push it to 3-0.
“I think right out the gate we came out moving the puck well, putting pucks in deep and drew a couple power plays,” Verhaeghe said. “That helped getting the first one and getting a little lead there. It just took off from there.”
Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry cut it to 3-1 at 12:27 of the second period on the penalty kill, but Sam Reinhart answered just 47 seconds later on the power play, taking a pass from Brady Tkachuk to make it 4-1 at 13:14. Brady Tkachuk added a fifth goal at 12:10 of the third period on a cross-ice feed from his brother Matthew. The Tkachuk brothers combined for seven points - two goals and five assists.
“Those are two special players,” Verhaeghe said. “They have a lot of brother chemistry, I guess. They’re making good passes to each other and it’s just fun to watch. Every night, it seems like they’re doing something that I would never try, so it’s cool.”
Goaltender Akira Schmid stopped all seven shots he faced in the third period and made seven high-danger saves for the game, per NaturalStatTrick.com. Jones credited Schmid’s steadiness as a key factor in the team’s recent run. “Unbelievable. Saves when we need him – slot chances, great chances. He’s been a rock back there for us,” Jones said.
“I felt really good right away,” Schmid said. “I felt like I saw everything. I just got everything stuck to me, like not really any big rebounds. I just felt comfortable where we were.”
The Panthers’ power play now sits at 23% on the season. Verhaeghe became the 13th player in franchise history with at least 30 power-play goals, while Reinhart moved into fifth place on Florida’s all-time scoring list with 395 points. Matthew Tkachuk is also now the fastest player in Panthers history to reach 200 assists, and Jones is the fourth Panthers defenseman with at least 14 assists in a single month.
Head coach Paul Maurice said the team’s focus late in a demanding road stretch stood out. “They were a pretty focused group tonight,” Maurice said. “We spent a lot of time on the road, so you’re worried about that last one, the guys kind of getting ahead of themselves, but I didn’t feel it. In our last two games, the start has been very strong.”
The Panthers will host the Jets for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, completing the teams’ season series within less than a week.