Lundell’s Hat Trick Leads Panthers Past Slumping Jets

Florida earned its sixth victory in eight games as Lundell recorded his first career hat trick. Sam Reinhart also scored, while goaltender Akira Schmid made 22 saves. The Panthers have now produced five hat tricks this season.

Seth Jones added a goal and two assists, ending October with 18 points. His two goals and 16 assists set a new Panthers record for points by a defenseman in one month, surpassing Keith Yandle’s 17-point mark from March 2018.

Kyle Connor scored his 11th goal of the season for Winnipeg. Morgan Barron’s first goal of the campaign cut Florida’s lead to 3-2 in the third period, but Lundell scored again to restore a two-goal margin before completing the hat trick with an empty-net goal 1:39 from the end. Winnipeg has gone 0-6-2 over its past eight games and lost both games of this week’s home-and-home series with Florida.

The Panthers remain without injured forwards Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand. Coach Paul Maurice said both returned to skating this week; Marchand could return in about three weeks, with Barkov potentially back in about four. Florida hosts Detroit on November 2, while Winnipeg visits Carolina on November 1.