Brady Tkachuk scored three goals, the winner 2:23 into overtime, as the Florida Panthers rallied from 2-0 down to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena. The Panthers trailed 2-0 after two periods before Tkachuk scored twice in the third to force overtime, then completed the hat trick in the extra period.
Liam Ohgren and Elias Pettersson scored in the first for Vancouver. Goalie Leevi Merilainen stopped 36 of 39 shots. Florida outshot the Canucks 39-17 and dominated possession but trailed 2-0 until Tkachuk’s third-period surge.
Key Moments: How Florida Rallied From Two Goals Down
Vancouver built its lead early. Ohgren opened the scoring on a snap shot at 7:23 of the first period, assisted by Linus Karlsson. Pettersson added a second goal at 17:06 off a snap shot, with assists from Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser, sending the Canucks into the second intermission up 2-0 despite being outshot heavily by Florida.
The Panthers broke through in the third period. Tkachuk scored at 11:11 on a snap shot (assist: Aaron Ekblad, Matthew Tkachuk) to cut it to 2-1. At 19:47, he scored again on a slap shot (assist: Carter Verhaeghe, Seth Jones) to tie it 2-2. In overtime, Tkachuk scored at 2:23 (assist: Seth Jones, Sam Reinhart) for the winner.
Top Performers: Tkachuk’s Hat Trick, Jones’ Three Points
Tkachuk’s three goals all came at even strength. Seth Jones had two assists and five shots in 26:16 of ice time. Florida dominated with 39 shots to 17, 21 hits to 15 and 29 faceoff wins in 58 draws.
Akira Schmid stopped 15 of 17 shots for Florida. Merilainen made 36 saves on 39 for Vancouver. Ohgren and Karlsson each had a goal or assist for the Canucks.
What It Means: Panthers Improve To 4-2-2, Canucks Fall To 2-6-1
The Panthers improved to 4-2-2 in the Atlantic Division. The Canucks fell to 2-6-1 and sit last in the Pacific, 7 points behind Vegas. Florida leads the season series 1-0.
What’s Next
The teams previewed this matchup as Vancouver continued its Pacific struggles.
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