Story by
Verhaeghe on a Tear for the Panthers after Slow Starts to Previous Seasons
- Story by
- Verhaeghe on a Tear for the Panthers after Slow Starts to Previous Seasons
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
SUNRISE— After a couple of slow starts to his season, Carter Verhaeghe is on a true heater for the Florida Panthers.
On Saturday night, Verhaeghe helped the Panthers make NHL history as the first team to have three natural hat tricks in as many games.
Advertisement
Verhaeghe's first of his three goals came late in the first period with the Panthers tied at 1 with the visiting Seattle Kraken. By the time he got his third straight, Florida was rolling with a 4-1 lead en route to a 8-3 win .
Brady Tkachuk , of course, had a natural hat trick in Florida's previous two games — wins at Columbus and Thursday against the Canucks.
"Sometimes they just come like that,'' Verhaeghe said. "It's pretty good to get a couple, get on the board, especially on the power play. It feels good.''
Sam Bennett also scored three goals on Saturday night, the first time in Panthers history that two players each accomplished the feat.
Advertisement
With six goals this season, Verhaeghe is tied with Tkachuk for the team lead through nine games. The two are tied for sixth in the NHL.
Last year, it took Verhaeghe until Game No. 26 to hit six goals.
During the 2024-25 season, he did not get his sixth until Florida's 23rd game of the season.
"He is better with more traffic,'' Paul Mauricesaid. "It's the chaos. I thought both his linemates did a really good job of creating that with some short-area plays. He doesn't need much time. Actually, he excels when there isn't any."
Considering the way his scoring touch seems to improve as the season goes along — Verhaeghe had half of his 25 goals last season between December and January — and he could certainly approach career highs in this campaign.
Advertisement
Verhaeghe's biggest regular-season scoring output was 42 goals in 2022-23 followed up by 34 in the next.
That does not even factor into his playoff scoring prowess where he has 31 goals in Florida's 78 games over the past four postseason runs.
Right now, he is on pace for 56 goals.
Of course, with five of his six goals in Florida's past three games, Verhaeghe has accelerated his pace.
Verhaeghe is certainly dangerous around the net.
With his quick shot, if Verhaeghe finds a loose puck around the goal mouth — or gets a cross-ice feed — he can get it off before a goalie has time to react.
Advertisement
Of his 16 shots on goal this season, seven have come from right around the goal.
The final two of his goals Saturday came from in front of the cage with his first being a lightning-quick one-timer after Sam Reinhart dug out a puck in the corner.
"When he is right in his game, and I think he has been all year, it is on and off his stick before the goalie can react," Maurice said. "It's impressive to watch both of those shots. We have seen him shoot the puck like that before.
"What's good is, at the 10-game mark, you want enough guys feeling — especially the ones who put pressure on themselves to produce — to be feeling good about their game."
ON DECK: GAME No. 10
FLORIDA PANTHERS at OTTAWA SENATORS
-
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
-
Where: Canada Tire Center, Ottawa
-
Streaming: Panthers+ , ESPN+
-
Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM. Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
-
Last Season: Panthers won 3-1
-
This Season — At Ottawa: Wednesday; March 18. At Florida:Nov. 25; Jan. 18
-
All-time Regular Season Series: Ottawa leads 60-51-6, 3 ties
-
Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7
Related Headlines
Advertisement
