Seattle Kraken vs Florida Panthers — Recap

📰Game Recap

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers overpowered the Seattle Kraken with an 8-3 victory, fueled by hat tricks from Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett. Matthew Tkachuk assisted on three of Florida’s goals as the Panthers consistently found the back of the net, outshooting the Kraken 37-23.

Florida established control early, with Sam Bennett scoring just over a minute into the first period. Seattle responded with a goal from Shane Wright to tie the game at 1-1. However, Carter Verhaeghe then scored twice in the final three minutes of the opening frame, giving Florida a 3-1 lead. The Panthers continued their offensive surge in the second period, with Verhaeghe completing his hat trick, followed by goals from Niko Mikkola and Sam Bennett, extending the lead to 6-1 before Frederick Gaudreau got one back for Seattle late in the period. In the third, Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, answered by Ryker Evans for Seattle, before Bennett completed his hat trick to finalize the scoring.

Jacob Markstrom secured the win for Florida, stopping 20 of 23 shots, while Seattle’s Joey Daccord made 29 saves on 37 shots faced. The Panthers' offensive depth and consistent pressure proved too much for the Kraken. SportsFBI's pregame model had leaned in favor of Florida at 64%, a projection that proved accurate. Following the game, Florida's record moved to 4-2-2, while Seattle now stands at 5-2-1.