SUNRISE, Fla. — The sequence — and the reaction — was a sight to see. Florida Panthers All-Star winger Matthew Tkachuk took a cross-ice pass from Sam Reinhart, flicked the puck toward the net from up close, chased after and corralled his own rebound, scooped the puck back on his stick and pushed it past goaltender Karel Vejmelka for a power-play goal with about 30 seconds left in the second period. Tkachuk pumped his right fist into the air as ballcaps made their way from the seats to the ice.
For the first time since joining the Panthers in the blockbuster trade of the summer, Tkachuk recorded a hat trick as Florida defeated the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3, on Tuesday at FLA Live Arena.
And each of Tkachuk’s three goals game at key moments in an early January game that had a must-win feel to it given how far down the Panthers (17-18-4) are in the standings and how much they have failed to live up to expectations with the season nearing the halfway mark.
He gave Florida a 1-0 lead just 69 seconds into the game when he took a pass from Aleksander Barkov and sent a sharp-angled shot into the net.
After Arizona (13-18-5) tied the game at 2-2 early in the second, Tkachuk put Florida back up 3-2 with 9:23 left with another sharp-angled shot from the goaltender’s right side, this time flicking it above Vejmelka’s shoulder pads.
And then he completed the hat trick with his power-play goal shortly before the end of the period to give the Panthers a 5-3 lead heading into the third period.
Tkachuk now has 20 goals on the season to go along with 27 assists and 47 total points — all three of which lead the team.
Eric Staal added two goals for his first multi-goal effort since Dec. 14, 2019. At 38 years and 66 days old, he is the fifth-oldest player to have a multi-goal game for the Panthers. Staal has six goals and 12 points on the season, all of which have come since Dec. 1.
Spencer Knight stopped 31 of 34 shots he faced and recorded his first career NHL point with a secondary assist on Tkachuk’s third goal.
Jakob Chychrun, Clayton Keller and Nick Bjugstad scored for Arizona.
UP NEXT
The Panthers play their next four games on the road: Friday against the Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m.), Sunday against the Dallas Stars (3:30 p.m.), Dec. 10 against the Colorado Rockies (9:30 p.m.) and Dec. 12 against the Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m.).
