Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart scored in the shootout to give the Florida Panthers a 2-1 win over the host Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night in a game that had a playoff feel.
Neither team is close to its form of last season, which saw the Panthers win their second consecutive Stanley Cup and the Jets win the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best regular-season record. Both are currently outside the playoff picture.
Sam Bennett got the goal in regulation for Florida, which has won two of its last three. Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves and denied Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele in the shootout.
Cole Perfetti scored for Winnipeg, which has points in seven of its last eight (5-1-2). Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots.
Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey hit the goal post with 1:40 remaining in the 3-on-3 overtime period.
Perfetti tied the game 1-all 5:24 into the third period.
After taking a cross-ice pass from Jonathan Toews, Perfetti broke in from the left circle, made a move that froze Tarasov and deposited a backhander into an empty net. Toews stole the puck from Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis in the right circle.
The close-checking game was scoreless until late in the second period. Bennett gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 1:11 left.
Off a faceoff in the left circle of the Jets’ zone, the puck went to the left-wing boards where Matthew Tkachuk controlled it and whipped a pass to Bennett, who rifled in a one-timer from the top inside edge of the left circle.
It was the second game back for Tkachuk, who got his first point of the season. He had not played earlier in 2025-26 because of surgery last Aug. 22 to repair a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia.
Florida had a 13-10 shots advantage after two periods.
There were only 11 shots combined in the first period, with the Panthers firing six at Hellebuyck.
Winnipeg defenseman Elias Salomonsson returned after missing two games because of an illness.
–Field Level Media
