Anton Lundell Scores First NHL Hat Trick As Winnipeg Jets Lose Eighth Straight

Anton Lundell high fives teammates after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets© AFP

The Florida Panthers continued their winning run on Friday, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 at Amerant Bank Arena. Anton Lundell delivered a standout performance with his first career NHL hat trick, while Seth Jones contributed three points to help Florida secure its third consecutive victory. Winnipeg made a push in the third period after falling behind by three goals, but Lundell scored twice late to put the result beyond reach. The defeat extended the Jets' winless stretch to eight games, adding to their difficult start to the season.

Anton Lundell Ends Scoring Struggles With Three Goals Against Winnipeg

Lundell entered the matchup with just one goal in his first 13 games this season. He found the net for the first time at 2:38 of the second period, recovering the puck after his initial pass was blocked before beating Nico Daws with a wrist shot from the left circle.
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Kyle Connor brought Winnipeg within one during a five-on-three power play at 9:51. However, Jones restored Florida's two-goal advantage with a power-play one-timer at 15:24, converting Sam Reinhart's pass from below the goal line.

Morgan Barron made it 3-2 at 8:46 of the third period with his first goal of the season. Lundell responded at 13:33, putting a rebound past Daws from near the crease. He then completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:21.

The three-goal performance came in Lundell's 372nd NHL game. He spoke about the challenge of continuing to create opportunities without getting the results he wanted.

“It has been one of those hard stretches,” Lundell said. “I felt like my game has been pretty good, we create a lot of chances. It just felt like nothing is going in. Just kept fighting and believing that, at some point, I'm going to be rewarded a little bit.”

Seth Jones Matches Florida Panthers' Monthly Scoring Record

Jones finished with one goal and two assists, taking his October total to 18 points, including two goals and 16 assists. He matched Keith Yandle for the most points recorded by a Florida defenseman in a single month. Jones also registered his fifth multipoint game of October.

Matthew Tkachuk's 16 assists and Jones' 16 assists made them just the third forward-defenseman combination in NHL history to each record at least 15 assists in October. They joined Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988, and Brian Leetch and Darren Turcotte of the New York Rangers in 1990.

Winnipeg Jets Suffer Eighth Consecutive Loss

The defeat left Winnipeg with an 0-6-2 record over its past eight games. Connor scored his team-leading 11th goal, while Barron also found the net. Daws stopped 33 shots in his first start for Winnipeg.

Akira Schmid made 22 saves for Florida, earning his third straight win and fifth in his past six starts. The Panthers have now won six of their last eight games and improved to 8-4-2.