Vinnie Hinostroza scored the only goal in the shootout, and Paul Maurice coached his 2,000th game as the host Florida Panthers defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-4 on Tuesday night in Sunrise.
Seattle trailed 4-1 with less than six minutes remaining before tying the game on goals by Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle and Bobby McMann.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves and had three stops in the shootout to earn the win for the Panthers (35-32-3). Nolan Foote, Eetu Luostarinen, Carter Verhaeghe and Noah Gregor scored Florida’s goals.
Maurice, 59, ranks second in the NHL for most games as a head coach, behind only Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman (2,141).
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad also reached a milestone as he played his 800th game.
As for Foote, it was only his third game with the Panthers and his first goal since April 11, 2024. He is the son of Canucks coach Adam Foote, who won two Stanley Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal as a defenseman.
Ryker Evans scored the other goal for Seattle (31-29-10), which has lost four straight games and eight of its past 10.
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord made 20 saves.
Seattle played without injured forwards Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz. McCann played for the Panthers for three seasons.
Florida was without numerous players, including A.J. Greer (suspension) and defenseman Niko Mikkola (knee). Panthers players who have been out longer term include Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart.
The Panthers opened the scoring at 2:32 of the second on a 2-on-1 rush when Gregor fed Foote for the redirection.
Florida increased its lead to 2-0 with 14:44 remaining in the third period as Hinostroza seized a loose puck in the slot, knocking it in off Luostarinen’s stick.
The teams then exchanged goals, with shots bouncing off Daccord’s right pad and Bobrovsky’s left pad. Verhaeghe and Evans scored those goals, respectively, within a span of 33 seconds.
With 7:39 remaining, Florida extended the lead to 4-1 as Gregor attempted to pass to Foote on another rush. This time, however, Gregor scored the goal on a deflection off a Kraken defenseman.
Seattle then made its dramatic rally before falling short in the shootout.
–Field Level Media
