Brady Tkachuk kept rolling Thursday night, and this one took overtime to settle.
Tkachuk finished off his second straight natural hat trick with a sharp move up the middle in extra time, lifting the Florida Panthers past the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. The game-winner capped a night in which he scored all three Florida goals, including the equalizer with 13 seconds left in regulation.
The finish came with Akira Schmid off for an extra attacker. Tkachuk tied it on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle, then earlier started the surge with 8:49 remaining when he snapped a shot from the top of the right circle past goalie Leevi Merilainen.
Tkachuk had already put together three straight goals Tuesday night in Columbus, doing it in the second period of a 7-3 win over the Blue Jackets.
Merilainen made 36 saves for Vancouver, while Schmid stopped 15 shots for Florida.
The Canucks got first-period goals from Liam Ohgren and defenseman Elias Pettersson, but they couldn’t hold the lead and dropped their sixth straight overall. Vancouver has now lost the first five games of its six-game trip.
Ohgren opened the scoring at 7:23 after a Florida turnover, taking a feed from Linus Karlsson and snapping one in from the high slot.
Pettersson made it 2-0 with 2:54 left in the opening period for his third goal of the season. Filip Chytil, making his season debut after recovering from a preseason shoulder injury, set up the defender for a shot from the slot.
Florida also had a scare in the third period when forward Eetu Luostarinen left after crashing into the back boards following a clean hit from Pettersson.
Before puck drop, Vancouver dealt Aatu Raty to Toronto in exchange for forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr.
The Canucks head to Tampa Bay on Saturday, while the Panthers return home to face Seattle that night.
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuk Is Fueling A Panthers Surge Fans Have To See
Brady Tkachuks early-season production for the Panthers has gone from quiet to impossible to ignore. After a slow start, he has caught fire with consecutive hat tricks in back-to-back games, and his latest burst has him leading Florida with six goals in eight games while the team works through its opening-month rhythm.
One of those three-goal nights came in overtime against Vancouver, a reminder of how quickly a hot streak can change the tone around a player and a lineup. Coach Paul Maurice has brushed off the sluggish start, pointing to the adjustment period that comes with new line combinations, and the Panthers now have a top-end scorer who suddenly looks fully in sync. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Just Gave Panthers Fans A Moment Worth Arguing About
Brady Tkachuk gave the Panthers exactly the kind of jolt they needed, turning a sluggish night into a statement win with his second straight hat trick in Floridas 3-2 overtime victory over the Canucks. The Panthers had to climb out of a two-goal hole just to get to extra time, but Tkachuks night carried the tone of the comeback and helped deliver the clubs first home win of the season.
The performance also put Tkachuk in rare company, making him the third player in Panthers history to post consecutive hat tricks. It was the first time the NHL had seen back-to-back natural hat tricks since 2024, which is the sort of odd, eye-catching footnote that will keep fans talking long after the final horn, even if the bigger question in Sunrise is how sustainable this kind of offensive surge really is. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Is Giving The Panthers A Start Few Saw Coming
Brady Tkachuk has given the Panthers an early stretch of offense few around the league could have predicted, piling up natural hat tricks in consecutive games and putting himself in rare company along the way. One of those nights ended with an overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the kind of finish that can change the feel of a road trip, a homestand, or even a teams mood in a hurry.
The run also adds another layer to a Panthers story already drawing plenty of attention, because this is not just about scoring volume but the timing and the company he has kept with it. He became the first NHL player since February 2024 to score hat tricks in back-to-back games, and his name now sits beside a small list of Panthers players who have done the same, giving Florida a jolt that looks even more unusual when you remember who was setting him up in the first one. [Read more 🡒]