Both teams played the first game of a home-and-home series between both clubs. The Panthers will host the Jets in Sunrise on Friday.
Florida(7-4-2) rushed in front 1-0 on the power play at the 7:27 mark. Seth Jones ripped a shot from above the high slot that went wide left. Brady Tkachuk banked the puck off the back of the cage while on the end wall. Carter Verhaeghe backhanded a shot by Clay Stevenson from the left side of the crease for his seventh goal of the season. The Cats scored first in a contest for the fourth time this season.
The Panthers extended their lead to 2-0 at 8:42. Matthew Tkachuk cycled the puck around the boards from the left corner. Seth Jones sent a cross-ice pass from the right point. Niko Mikkola skated down and put in a wrist shot from the left wing for his second goal this year.
It became 3-0 for Florida with 9:42 remaining in the first on another power-play goal. Jones pushed a square pass from the right point. Verhaghe angled a pass from the top of the zone and Matthew Tkachuk returned it from the low left circle. Verhaeghe blasted a one-time slap shot from the high slot for his second tally of the game and eighth goal in 2026-27.
Winnipeg(4-5-3) closed the gap to 3-1 on a shorthanded goal with 7:33 to go in the second period. Adam Lowry intercepted a pass by Cats goalie Akira Schmid on the right goal line. He placed in a wraparound shot for his second goal of the year.
Florida made it 4-1 with 6:46 left in the second on their third power-play goal of the game. Matthew Tkachuk zipped a pass from the right wing and Brady Tkachuk tapped it from the right goal line. Sam Reinhart snapped a shot from the low slot for his sixth goal of the campaign.
In the third period, the Panthers increased their lead to 5-1 with 7:50 remaining. Mikkola sent a lead pass from the red line. Matthew Tkachuk connected a diagonal pass from the left wing and Brady Tkachuk redirected a shot from the top of the crease for his eighth goal this season.
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