The Florida Panthers ended the Seattle Kraken’s seven-game winning streak with an impressive 5-1 victory over the rising second-year franchise at Climate Pledge Arena.
Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals 26 seconds apart in the first period to give the Cats a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Verhaeghe opened the scoring at the thirteen-minute mark, firing into an empty cage after Matthew Tkachuk’s touch pass for a wide-open Marc Staal to finish off failed to fully click, with the defenseman stabbing the puck wide. Staal crashed into goaltender Philipp Grubauer leaving the net open for Verhaeghe, who was set up by Sam Bennett after he got to the puck in the left corner.