Lundell's First Hat Trick Buries Winnipeg — Jets Lose Eighth Straight
GOATIFYAnton Lundell entered Friday night with one goal in 13 games. He left the ice in Sunrise with his first NHL hat trick, a standing ovation and a decisive answer to a Winnipeg comeback that briefly threatened to undo Florida's work. The Panthers beat the Jets 5-2 on October 30, but the score hides how much pressure accumulated before Lundell took control of the third period.
For Florida, it was a third consecutive win, another reminder of the scoring depth that has kept the club competitive through injuries. For Winnipeg, it was an eighth consecutive game without a victory, with the new goaltending situation under scrutiny and little room for comforting explanations. Lundell supplied the headline; Seth Jones, Sam Reinhart and the power play explained why the Panthers were in position to win.
Florida's special teams built the lead before Lundell took the stage
The first goal was a lesson in how a power play can turn an apparently harmless puck into a high-percentage chance. Sam Reinhart controlled possession near the goal line late in the opening period, waited for a passing lane that never fully materialized, then used the space Winnipeg surrendered to score at 18:15. It was a patient finish, but the more important detail was the lack of immediate pressure. The Jets let a dangerous scorer hold the puck near the crease and choose his moment.
That 1-0 lead carried into the intermission and gave Florida an opportunity to impose its preferred tempo. At 2:38 of the second, Lundell attempted a pass on the rush, recovered the blocked puck and fired from the top of the left circle. The shot beat Nico Daws and doubled the advantage. It was the sort of goal that can look routine on a highlight reel but is built on a useful habit: keep playing after the first action fails. Lundell did not wait for a perfect second opportunity; he created one from the rebound of his own decision.
Winnipeg was not without a response. Dmitry Kulikov was penalized for sending the puck out of play, and Florida's unsuccessful challenge produced a two-man advantage for the visitors. The Panthers nearly killed the full five-on-three, but Kyle Connor found a seam with six seconds remaining in the advantage and scored at 9:51. It was Connor's team-leading 11th goal and a reminder that Winnipeg still has individual finishing talent capable of punishing even a brief defensive mistake.
The turning point was what happened next. Instead of allowing that goal to change the flow of the game, Florida used another power play to restore the two-goal cushion. Reinhart supplied the puck from below the goal line and Jones finished from the slot at 15:24. The 3-1 score at the second intermission reflected more than shot-making: Florida had taken its special-teams opportunities and protected the momentum after Winnipeg's best chance to change it.
Across the two games against the Jets that week, the Panthers scored five times on ten power-play opportunities. That is not a sustainable nightly conversion rate, but it illustrates why their current structure is difficult to defend. The puck can travel from a skilled forward below the goal line to an attacking defenseman in the middle, and a penalty kill cannot simply overload one shooter. Winnipeg had answers in isolated moments; Florida had more ways to manufacture a dangerous possession.
Three different goals told the story of Lundell's long-awaited breakthrough
Lundell's opening goal was a clean shot from distance. His second was almost the opposite: a determined finish in front of the crease when the game was becoming uncomfortable. His third went into an empty net. Taken together, they were not three copies of the same play. They showed a center willing to attack in transition, arrive at the net when the game tightened and remain available to finish the result when Winnipeg pushed for an equalizer.
The context matters because the 25-year-old had scored only once in his first 13 appearances. A player can contribute defensively, win important draws and help create chances without receiving the immediate reward of a goal, but a prolonged dry spell still affects the way an offense is discussed. Lundell had been involved in Florida's work without supplying the finishing numbers he wanted. Against Winnipeg, he converted three chances and finished with eight shots on goal. The volume was as revealing as the result: he was repeatedly getting into positions where a goal was possible.
His first finish came early in the second period, but the critical one arrived after Winnipeg had made the contest a one-goal game. Morgan Barron drove in from the right side and beat Akira Schmid at 8:46 of the third to reduce Florida's lead to 3-2. At that point, the Jets had enough time to turn the game into a genuine comeback. Florida needed a composed shift, not merely a cautious retreat. Lundell answered at 13:33, getting to the edge of the crease and putting away a rebound for 4-2.
That goal separated the Panthers from the anxious final minutes that have trapped teams with a two-goal lead. It also illustrated the value of a forward who does not rely on one specific scoring route. If the long-range wrist shot is not available, he can still create trouble around the blue paint. If opponents overcommit to the puck carrier, he can arrive as the second threat. Those are habits that translate more reliably than an unusually high shooting percentage in one game.
With Winnipeg's net empty, Lundell completed the hat trick at 18:21. It was his first in the NHL and a milestone achieved after hundreds of regular-season appearances, not an overnight emergence. The Panthers already trusted him with responsible minutes and difficult assignments. What changed was the visible payoff. One hat trick does not guarantee an extended scoring streak, and it would be a mistake to treat it as proof that every offensive issue has disappeared. It does, however, make Florida harder to plan against when another forward beyond its established stars can finish a game in several ways.
Jones turned October into a franchise-level month from the blue line
Even without Lundell's hat trick, Seth Jones would have been a central part of the conversation. He produced a goal and two assists against Winnipeg, finishing October with 18 points: two goals and 16 assists. That output placed him at the top of Florida's single-month scoring list for defensemen according to the club's own account. The number is remarkable for a player whose job is not simply to chase offense but to move the puck efficiently, defend the rush and make sound decisions under pressure.
The power-play goal demonstrated why Jones's production has been more than an accumulation of secondary assists. He moved into a shooting lane in the slot while Reinhart worked below the goal line, then finished the pass with a one-timer. The play required timing and a clear understanding of where Winnipeg's penalty killers were likely to turn their attention. A defenseman who can appear in that space forces opponents to defend more than the traditional point shot. It creates another scoring threat in an area where a split second can be decisive.
Jones has also benefited from a group of forwards comfortable moving the puck through traffic rather than waiting for the perfect perimeter shot. Reinhart finished with a goal and an assist, while Eetu Luostarinen added two helpers. Matthew Tkachuk and Jones each registered at least 15 assists during October, an unusual pairing of a forward and defenseman producing that much playmaking in the same month. Their numbers point to a team distributing chances through multiple lines and positions rather than expecting one star to solve every possession.
Florida's power play has provided an especially useful buffer while Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand have dealt with injuries. A productive extra-man unit can cover for stretches when the five-on-five lineup is missing important pieces. It can also turn games that are otherwise relatively even into wins, as happened against Winnipeg. But there is a distinction between creating dangerous looks and relying on a conversion rate that will inevitably fluctuate. The Panthers need to preserve the movement, screens and passing decisions even when fewer shots find the net.
For Jones, the challenge now is consistency rather than chasing another record. A defenseman can dominate a month and still face the everyday task of getting pucks out cleanly, protecting the middle and avoiding the kind of risky pinch that turns a promising attack into an odd-man rush. His October showed that Florida has an offensive weapon on the blue line. The club's next step is to make that production part of a balanced game rather than a requirement for survival.
Eight games without a win leave Winnipeg searching for more than a new goalie
Winnipeg's eighth consecutive game without a victory was painful partly because the Jets had a route back into it. Connor's five-on-three goal kept them close in the second period. Barron's drive to the net at 8:46 of the third made it 3-2 and gave the bench a believable path to overtime. The visitors were not shut out of the contest or reduced to waiting for the final horn. They created a pressure point, then failed to turn it into sustained control.
The goaltending situation made every sequence more significant. Nico Daws was making his first start for Winnipeg after arriving in the October 23 trade that sent Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey. He stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced before the empty-net goal. That is not the performance of a goalie who single-handedly lost a game. Florida generated enough volume and quality to test him repeatedly, while Winnipeg struggled to prevent second chances and control the middle of the ice at critical moments.
It would be tempting to make the losing streak entirely about the departure of a decorated goaltender. The reality is more demanding. A team that allows opponents to move the puck freely on the power play and fails to clear rebounds from the crease cannot expect any replacement to erase those problems. Daws needs a defensive structure that gives him a fair opportunity to read shots, control first saves and reset before the next attack. The players in front of him need to turn a few encouraging shifts into full periods.
Winnipeg is now 0-6-2 over its past eight games after beginning the season 4-1-1. That is a significant reversal, not a minor fluctuation. The Panthers beat the Jets 5-1 in Winnipeg on October 27 and 5-2 in Florida three days later, a combined 10-3 margin. The second contest was more competitive in phases, but the end result was almost identical. Small improvements matter only if they lead to fewer mistakes at the moments that decide games.
There are still useful building blocks. Connor's finishing remains dangerous, Barron showed the determination to attack the net, and Daws handled a demanding first start. But Winnipeg's next opponent, Carolina on November 1, is unlikely to offer much time to rebuild confidence. The Jets have to reduce the number of uncontrolled possessions in their own zone and avoid handing opponents repeated special-teams opportunities. An eight-game slide creates urgency, yet panic is not a tactical plan. The fastest way out is to defend the middle better, win more puck battles and turn one close game into an actual victory.
Lundell's first hat trick was the satisfying individual story: a dependable center who had been doing useful work without scoring finally received the kind of night that changes how a difficult month feels. But Florida's 5-2 win was more than a personal breakthrough. Reinhart's power-play opener, Jones's production from the blue line and Schmid's steadiness created the platform that allowed Lundell to settle the contest.
Winnipeg leaves with a different kind of evidence. The Jets fought back to 3-2 and received a competitive first start from Daws, yet still conceded the decisive chance and suffered another loss. Florida can build on three straight victories; Winnipeg has to turn small improvements into two points before the eight-game slide becomes an even larger hole. The Panthers will host Detroit on November 2, while the Jets face Carolina on November 1.
