SUNRISE - Anton Lundell scored his first career NHL hat trick Friday night as the Florida Panthers completed a season sweep of the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-2 victory at Amerant Bank Arena, improving to 8-4-2 on the season.
Lundell opened his scoring with a wicked snipe from the top of the left circle at 2:38 of the second period, added a second goal at 13:33 of the third to squash a Jets comeback, then sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:21. “Just kept fighting and believing that at some point I’m gonna get rewarded,” Lundell said. “Today, it all came. First ever hat trick in the NHL. I’ve had some two-goal nights, but the third one has always been hard to score.”
Defenseman Seth Jones was equally dominant, racking up three points - one goal and two assists - to push his October total to 18 points, the most ever recorded by a Florida blueliner in a single month. Jones also became the fifth American-born defenseman to record at least 15 assists in the month of October. “They’re just flowing right now,” Jones said of his production. “I don’t judge my game based on points. I judge it based on how smart my plays are, how efficient I am breaking the puck out - and that kind of comes with it. A lot of it’s been power play, and that’s been pretty hot lately.”
Sam Reinhart opened the scoring at 18:15 of the first period, roofing a shot over Jets goaltender Nico Daws on the power play to make it 1-0. The goal gave Reinhart six power-play goals on the season, tied for first in the NHL. The Panthers have converted at nearly 40% on the power play since Oct. 12, going 13-for-33 with the extra attacker over that stretch. “I think Jamie [Kompon] and his power-play group have done a great job really changing the foundation of what we’re trying to do,” head coach Paul Maurice said.
Winnipeg cut the deficit to 2-1 when Kyle Connor scored during a 5-on-3 power play at 9:51 of the second period, and Morgan Barron pulled the Jets within 3-2 at 8:46 of the third. But Lundell answered 4:47 later to put the game out of reach. The Panthers won 62.7% of their faceoffs and led 20-15 in blocked shots. Sandis Vilmanis recorded a team-high seven hits.
“I think you saw a kind of a weight off his shoulders in the celebration on that first goal,” Jones said of Lundell. “We were making fun of him here after the game, but it’s nice to see him put one in. I know he’s been working really hard during the games and doing his job every night.”
The win was Florida’s second over Winnipeg in four days, following a 5-1 road victory Tuesday. The Panthers have now won six of their last eight games. “We knew this was an important one to carry this momentum through the last two games of the trip,” Jones said. “The fans were great tonight. They gave us momentum and gave us a lot of energy.”
Maurice credited the team’s depth for the strong start. “You know everybody’s an important piece,” he said, adding of Jones specifically: “He’s got lots of confidence up top. He’s offensively as strong as there is in the league from the blue line.”
The Panthers host the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET, with a chance to extend their winning streak to three games.