The Panthers squandered a late three-goal lead only to snatch victory in a dramatic shootout after a wild third period.
The Florida Panthers were back on home ice Tuesday as their tumultuous season continues to wind down.
Despite holding two separate three-goal leads during the third period, Florida had to take the game to a shootout, picking up a 5-4 victory over the visiting Seattle Kraken.
The game remained scoreless into the second period, but that’s when the Panthers took advantage of an odd-man rush to strike first.
Noah Gregor, who had just been called up by Florida from AHL Charlotte the day before, led a 2-on-1 into the Kraken zone with Nolan Foote.
A nice saucer pass from Gregor led Foote to the net, and his quick forehand shot tricked through Joey Daccord to give Florida a 1-0 lead at the 2:32 mark of the middle frame.
That’s how the score would remain until early in the third period.
A backhand shot by Vinnie Hinostroza deflected off Eetu Luostarinen on its way toward the net, and the puck trickled through Daccord and into the net to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead with 14:44 to go.
Just over two minutes later, Carter Verhaeghe lost the puck while trying to make a move past Daccord, only to retrieve it below the goal line and fire a shot that deflected off the goalie’s pad and into the net to make it 3-0 Florida.
On the very next shift, a long shot by Ryker Evans from just inside the Panthers blue line went wide of Sergei Bobrovsky’s net, but the puck hit off the back boards and went directly back where it came from.
The quick, unorthodox rebound went right back into the goal crease, deflecting off the skate of Bobrovsky and into the net, cutting Florida’s lead to 3-1 with 11:50 on the clock.
Another odd-man rush led to another goal by the Panthers’ fourth line.
This time, Gregor’s cross-zone pass deflected off Kraken defenseman THISGUY and past a sliding Daccord, restoring Florida’s three-goal lead with 7:39 to go in the game.
Once again, the Kraken responded quickly.
Less than two minutes after Gregor’s goal, Seattle star Matty Beniers cut toward Bobrovsky and dangled around an attempted poke-check by the Cats’ tendy, popping the puck into the yawning cage and cutting Florida’s lead to 4-2 with 5:43 remaining.
Jordan Eberle made it a one-goal game just over two minutes after that, beating Bobrovsky over the glove on a breakaway to make it 4-3, and then on the ensuing shift, Bobby McMann tied the game on an almost identical breakaway shot with 3:22 still to play in the third period.
Both goals were unassisted.
The game ended up going to overtime, but five minutes of 3-on-3 wasn’t enough to find a winner.
Hinostroza scored a pretty goal and Bobrovsky stopped all three Kraken shots as Florida picked up the bonus point in the shootout.
On to the Wild.
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Photo caption: Mar 24, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Nolan Foote (25) celebrates after scoring against the Seattle Kraken during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)