SUNRISE, Fla. (Interstat) — Brady Tkachuk completed his second straight natural hat trick with a nifty move up the middle in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena. Tkachuk also scored three straight goals in Columbus during a 7-3 victory over the Blue Jackets. The Panthers improved to 4-4, while the Canucks fell to 2-7. A crowd of 18,900 watched Florida erase a two-goal deficit and finish the comeback in the extra period. Tkachuk finished with three goals and six shots on goal. Akira Schmid earned the win with 15 saves on 17 shots. Seth Jones added two assists and five shots on goal, and Sam Bennett recorded six shots on goal. Sam Reinhart contributed an assist and five shots on goal. Matthew Tkachuk had an assist and one shot on goal. Anton Lundell put four shots on goal. Liam Ohgren finished with one goal, one shot on goal and one hit for Vancouver, while Elias Pettersson had one goal, two shots on goal and two hits. Filip Chytil recorded one assist and one hit. The Panthers controlled much of the late action after a sluggish start, and the overtime winner capped a dramatic finish.

Vancouver struck first in the opening period. Liam Ohgren scored at 7:23 of the first, with Linus Karlsson assisting, to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. Elias Pettersson made it 2-0 at 17:06 of the first, finishing a wrist shot with assists from Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser. The Canucks generated chances early, including a Filip Chytil faceoff win against Sam Reinhart and a Pettersson shot that went wide right shortly after his goal. Leevi Merilainen made saves on Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Lars Eller during the first period. Vancouver also blocked shots by Niko Mikkola, Jamie Oleksiak and Elias Pettersson. Florida pressed for a response, but Merilainen stopped attempts from Seth Jones, Gustav Forsling and Anton Lundell. The Canucks took the two-goal lead into the first intermission and held it through a scoreless second period, despite Florida’s pressure. Schmid kept the Panthers within reach, stopping Vancouver chances from Jake DeBrusk, Max Sasson and Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Max Sasson and Garnet Hathaway received matching minors at 15:50 of the first. Eetu Luostarinen was called for hooking at 19:22 of the first. Jonathan Lekkerimaki was whistled for holding at 38:33 of the second, and Bokondji Imama was called for holding at 8:14 of the second.

Florida finally broke through in the third period. Brady Tkachuk scored at 33:11 of the third, cutting the Vancouver lead to 2-1. Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk assisted on the goal. The Panthers continued to push, and Tkachuk tied the game at 57:47 of the third with a slap shot. Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones assisted. The late goal forced overtime and shifted momentum fully to Florida. Before Tkachuk’s first goal, the Panthers had several near misses and saves, including Bennett’s backhand and wrist shots that Merilainen turned aside. Carter Verhaeghe was stopped by Merilainen at 0:40 of the third. Seth Jones had a wrist shot saved at 12:28, and Brady Tkachuk was denied on a backhand at 15:27. Sam Reinhart and Brady Tkachuk also had late chances saved before the equalizer. Vancouver had chances to extend its lead earlier in the third, but Schmid stopped Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett. The Canucks also had a Niko Mikkola roughing penalty at 24:19 of the third, giving Florida a late power play, though the Panthers did not convert before Tkachuk’s equalizer. Florida’s pressure paid off when Tkachuk scored his second of the period, setting up the extra session. The Panthers finished the third with the stronger legs and carried that into overtime.

In overtime, Anton Lundell won the opening faceoff against Filip Chytil. Brady Tkachuk put a wrist shot on net just four seconds in, but Merilainen saved it. Sam Bennett sent a wrist shot wide right at 0:42. At 8:23 of overtime, Tkachuk ended it with a wrist shot, assisted by Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart. The goal completed his second straight natural hat trick and gave Florida the 3-2 win. Tkachuk’s hat trick came after he scored three consecutive goals at Columbus. For Vancouver, Ohgren finished with one goal, one shot on goal and one hit. Pettersson had one goal, two shots on goal and two hits. Chytil recorded one assist and one hit. Schmid finished with 15 saves on 17 shots. The Canucks had several chances in the first two periods but could not add to their lead, and Florida’s late surge made the difference. The Panthers also benefited from faceoff wins by Lundell and Bennett in key moments, while Vancouver’s penalty trouble helped Florida build momentum.

The result continued contrasting starts for the teams. Florida moved back to .500 at 4-4 and has shown signs of finding its form behind Tkachuk’s scoring touch. Vancouver fell to 2-7 and remains near the bottom of the early-season standings. The Canucks have struggled on the road, and this loss came after a series of difficult results, including recent defeats at the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes. Florida’s recent victory at Columbus included a Tkachuk hat trick, and he followed it with another three-goal performance. Seth Jones contributed two assists in the win, while Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk also factored in the offense. Vancouver received goals from Ohgren and Pettersson, but the Canucks could not hold the lead. Florida’s goaltending and late pressure helped secure the extra point. The Panthers will next host Seattle, while Vancouver will visit Tampa Bay.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Florida 3, Vancouver 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Florida with a 73 percent probability to win. Florida had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 6.5.