Panthers vs. Jets: Carter Verhaeghe Scores Twice as Florida's Power Play Buries Winnipeg

Ten minutes and 18 seconds. That is how long it took the Florida Panthers to turn a Tuesday night in Winnipeg into a formality. Carter Verhaeghe scored twice on the power play, Niko Mikkola banked one in between, and by the time the Jets had settled into their first-period routine, they were staring up at a three-goal hole.

Florida rolled from there to a 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. Matthew Tkachuk piled up four assists, brother Brady added a goal and two helpers, Seth Jones had three assists, all in the first period, and the Panthers went 3-for-5 with the man advantage. For Winnipeg, the losing streak is now six games, and the questions are getting louder.

The First-Period Blitz

Florida drew an early power play and cashed it at 7:27. Verhaeghe lifted a backhand over Clay Stevenson, with Brady Tkachuk and Jones on the assists. Just 75 seconds later, Mikkola put a puck into the middle and a Jets stick did the rest, redirecting it in for a 2-0 lead.

The killer came at 10:18. Back on the power play, Matthew Tkachuk found Verhaeghe in the high slot and he hammered a one-timer past Stevenson for his second of the night and eighth of the season. Jones got an assist on all three, which the Panthers say matched the franchise record for assists by a defenseman in a single period.

Verhaeghe explained the opening burst simply. "I think right out the gate we came out moving the puck well, putting pucks in deep and drew a couple power plays," he said. "It just took off from there."

Head coach Paul Maurice had been worried about a trip-ending letdown and did not get one. "They were a pretty focused group tonight," Maurice said. "In our last two games, the start has been very strong."

The Turning Point: 47 Seconds

Winnipeg did get one shot at a real comeback. At 12:27 of the second, with the Jets killing a penalty, Adam Lowry stripped Akira Schmid of the puck and stuffed a wraparound toward the goal line. Schmid dove and got his paddle there, or so it seemed, until video review showed the puck was already across. It was a shorthanded goal, Lowry's second of the season, and it made the score 3-1.

It lasted 47 seconds. Sam Reinhart teed up a Brady Tkachuk feed and picked the top of the net above Stevenson's shoulder for Florida's third power-play goal of the night. At 4-1, the comeback conversation was over before it started. If you want a single sequence that sums up how this game went, that is it: the Jets finally get one, and the Panthers answer before the replay is done.

Brady capped it at 12:10 of the third, tipping in a Matthew feed from across the ice for his eighth goal of the season, with Mikkola picking up the second assist.

The Brothers, the Defenseman and the Goalie

The Tkachuk brothers combined for seven points, and the AP noted they have combined for 35 through Florida's first 13 games. Matthew's four assists also made him the fastest player in Panthers history to reach 200 assists, per the team, and he has a point in 11 of 13 games. Verhaeghe sounded a little in awe of the sibling show. "Those are two special players," he said. "Every night, it seems like they're doing something that I would never try, so it's cool."

Jones logged 25:02 and finished with three assists. The Panthers noted it was the fourth three-assist period of his career, making him only the 14th defenseman in NHL history with that many. "The power was clicking," Jones said. "Sometimes when the points are flowing, they're flowing, and sometimes they're not."

Schmid made 24 saves on 25 shots for a .960 save percentage and stopped all seven shots he faced in the third period. According to the AP, it was his fourth win in five starts. "I felt really good right away," he said. "I felt like I saw everything."

Verhaeghe also became the 13th player in franchise history with 30 power-play goals, and Reinhart moved into fifth on Florida's all-time scoring list with 395 points, according to the team.

For Winnipeg, Stevenson stopped 19 of 24 shots for a .792 save percentage. Lowry's goal was the lone bright spot.

Stats That Matter

• 3-for-5: Florida's power play, which the AP says now has 13 goals in the last eight games.
• 0-for-2: Winnipeg's power play, which is 0-for-14 over its last five games according to the AP.
• 7: Combined points for the Tkachuk brothers.
• 3: First-period assists for Jones, tying a Panthers record for a defenseman in one period.
• .960: Schmid's save percentage on 25 shots.

What It Means

Florida improves to 7-4-2 with 16 points and finishes its four-game road trip at 2-2-0, after opening it with losses at Ottawa and Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 5-3-2 on the road, and their power play is humming at 23 percent on the season, according to the team. "It's won us a bunch of games this year early," Maurice said.

Winnipeg falls to 4-5-3 with 11 points and 2-4-1 at home. The Jets have not won since a 4-1-1 start, going 0-4-2 since, and the AP noted they have scored more than three goals only once all season, in a 5-2 win over Minnesota on Oct. 13. All of this came on the same night Connor Hellebuyck, traded by Winnipeg four days earlier, won his New Jersey debut in Dallas. Next, the Jets visit Tampa Bay on Thursday before a Friday rematch in Florida.

Family Business

The Tkachuks are turning Florida's season into a family sitcom where the brothers keep stealing every scene. Verhaeghe called it "brother chemistry," and on Tuesday the Jets got the full episode, credits and all. Winnipeg gets another viewing Friday, and right now it does not look like a rerun anyone in that dressing room wants to see.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by the Florida Panthers on nhl.com.