Florida Panthers beat Seattle Kraken 8-3 as Verhaeghe scores a natural hat trick

Verhaeghe breaks the first-period tie

Sam Bennett opened the scoring for Florida after just 65 seconds, batting a rebound out of the air to give the Panthers the game’s first lead.

Shane Wright equalized for Seattle in the first period.

Carter Verhaeghe put Florida back ahead at 17:56, one-timing a loose puck from the left circle. He struck again on the power play at 19:07, converting Brady Tkachuk’s cross-crease pass. Those two goals turned the tie into a 3-1 Panthers lead at the first intermission.

Three more Florida goals in the second

Verhaeghe completed his natural hat trick at 6:02 of the second period. Niko Mikkola’s wraparound attempt produced a rebound, and Verhaeghe collected it for his third consecutive goal, extending Florida’s lead to 4-1.

Mikkola added a goal of his own 40 seconds later, sending a long shot over Daccord’s blocker. Bennett then finished a two-on-one with Brady Tkachuk, bringing Florida’s total to six goals and giving Bennett his second of the game.

Freddy Gaudreau scored late in the second period, cutting Seattle’s deficit to 6-2 before the intermission.

Bennett completes the second hat trick

Sam Reinhart scored on a third-period power play, one-timing a feed to extend Florida’s advantage. Seattle added its third goal just under four minutes into the period, before the Panthers scored once more.

Bennett completed his hat trick at 11:14 of the third for the 8-3 final.

His third goal also brought his career total to 400 points. Florida had two hat-trick scorers in one game for the first time.

Florida extends its winning run

Jacob Markstrom finished with 20 saves as Florida secured its third consecutive victory. Seattle completed its five-game road trip with a 3-1-1 record.