Panthers 5, Jets 1: The Tkachuks Handed Winnipeg the Puck

October 27, 2026 - Winnipeg - Florida drew two power plays and scored on both before Canada Life Centre had found a save it could trust. Carter Verhaeghe tucked one at 7:27. He scored again at 10:18. In between, a centering pass hopped off a Jets stick. Three goals in 2:51. The night was already over.

The Florida Panthers beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-1. Florida is 7-4-2, five of seven (5-2-0), two wins on a four-game trip after opening it with two losses. Winnipeg is 4-5-3, winless in six (0-4-2) after points in five of its first six (4-1-1). Shots were 25-24 Winnipeg. Niko Mikkola, Clay Stevenson, and Mario Ferraro are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Matthew Tkachuk had four assists. Brady Tkachuk had a goal and two assists. Verhaeghe scored twice. Mikkola had a goal and an assist. Seth Jones had three assists. Sam Reinhart scored on the power play. Akira Schmid stopped 24 of 25. Adam Lowry scored short-handed. Stevenson stopped 19 of 24.

Three in 2:51, then a wraparound that needed Toronto

Verhaeghe made it 1-0 on the power play. He collected a rebound below the goal line and tucked it inside the left post. Brady Tkachuk and Jones on the play.

Mikkola made it 2-0 at 8:42. His centering pass redirected off Ferraro's stick and over Stevenson's glove. Jones and Matthew Tkachuk the assists.

Verhaeghe's second also came on the man advantage, a point shot through traffic at 10:18. Matthew Tkachuk and Jones again. Florida went 3-for-5 on the power play. Paul Maurice told NHL.com you do not want the power play winning it for you every night, but with pieces missing, they needed it.

Lowry scored short-handed at 12:27 of the second. He forced a turnover from Schmid, who was out to play the puck, and wrapped it at the right post. Officials waved it off. About 29 seconds later the Situation Room stopped play. The puck had crossed. Lowry told NHL.com he thought it went in on the wrap, and that it was a good buzzer, not a bad one. Schmid told NHL.com he fumbled it and gave it right to the guy.

It did not start a comeback. Reinhart made it 4-1 at 13:14, still on the power play. Matthew Tkachuk to Brady Tkachuk at the goal line, touch pass to Reinhart in the slot. The NHL landing lists 13:14. The NHL recap used the same time.

One-handed, four assists, 200 in Florida

Brady Tkachuk finished it at 12:10 of the third, a one-handed redirect of Matthew Tkachuk's saucer pass on the rush. 5-1.

The NHL recap said Matthew Tkachuk's four assists gave him 203 with Florida, ninth player to 200 assists as a Panther, and the fastest (255 games), more than 100 games quicker than Keith Yandle (369). He passed Yandle (201) for seventh on the franchise assist list. Verhaeghe's two goals put him at 355 points with Florida, past Scott Mellanby for seventh.

Jones told NHL.com they played a team game and took care of the puck, and that special teams were a big factor. The clubs play again Friday in Florida.

Lowry told NHL.com they did not get it done, and that they keep picking themselves up off the mat. Jets coach Scott Arniel said they beat themselves, the penalty kill has to be better, and they could have had another too-many-men. The Associated Press recap said Winnipeg's power play is 0-for-14 in five games and 2-for-18 at home.

AthX Engine on a 5-1 that paid the same as Dallas

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Verhaeghe at 10.30 (two goals, two power-play bonuses, three shots, two penalty minutes). Matthew Tkachuk is 10.10. Brady Tkachuk is 9.60. Jones is 9.30. Mikkola is 7.80. Reinhart is 5.70. Lowry's goal, three shots, and the short-handed bonus from the landing (the box row left that field empty) land at 6.80. Schmid's win, 24 saves, and one goal against are 11.40.

Florida's team line is 22.00. Winnipeg is 0.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for two Tkachuks on the same rush, and for a Jets group that has not won in six. They are not the same number.

Track Matthew Tkachuk, Verhaeghe, Brady Tkachuk, and both clubs on the marketplace. Winnipeg visits Tampa Bay on Thursday, then Florida on Friday. The Panthers host that second half of the home-and-home.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020194, with Lowry's short-handed bonus from the landing scoring play. Information only; not financial advice.*