Verhaeghe and Bennett score hat tricks as Florida overwhelms a weary Seattle team to close out the road trip
SUNRISE, Fla. — October 17, 2026
The Seattle Kraken ran into a Florida Panthers team that seemed impossible to stop Saturday night, suffering a lopsided 8–3 defeat at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett each recorded a hat trick to power the Panthers to their third consecutive victory. Florida’s offensive explosion spoiled the end of Seattle’s five-city road trip, leaving the Kraken with a 3–1–1 record away from home during the 10-day journey.
Seattle showed early signs of being able to compete with the defending powerhouse. Florida struck first when Bennett scored just 1:05 into the opening period, but the Kraken answered less than four minutes later. Shane Wright redirected a pass from Berkly Catton into the net to even the score at 1–1.
For a brief moment, Seattle appeared ready to make it another competitive night.
Then Verhaeghe took over.
With just over two minutes remaining in the first period, Verhaeghe fired a shot past Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord to put Florida ahead 2–1. Just 71 seconds later, he scored again on the power play, sending the Panthers into the first intermission with a commanding 3–1 advantage.
The Kraken never recovered from that late first-period collapse.
Verhaeghe completed his natural hat trick early in the second period, scoring his third consecutive goal to extend Florida’s lead to 4–1. Only 40 seconds later, Niko Mikkola added another goal, putting Seattle in a five-alarm situation at 5–1.
Florida continued to apply pressure, and Bennett scored his second goal of the night to make it 6–1. Seattle’s defense struggled to contain the Panthers’ speed and creativity, while Daccord faced a relentless attack.
Freddy Gaudreau managed to pull one back for Seattle late in the second period, giving the Kraken a brief reason to celebrate. However, the deficit remained substantial heading into the final 20 minutes.
Florida added two more goals in the third period. Sam Reinhart scored on the power play before Seattle defenseman Ryker Evans answered with a goal of his own, cutting the score to 7–3.
Bennett then completed his hat trick at 11:14 of the third period, sealing the Panthers’ 8–3 victory.
The win also made NHL history. Verhaeghe’s natural hat trick followed natural hat tricks by Brady Tkachuk in each of Florida’s previous two games, making the Panthers the first team in NHL history to record a natural hat trick in three consecutive games.
For Seattle, the defeat was a disappointing end to what had otherwise been a productive road trip. The Kraken had collected points in their first four games before running out of gas in Florida. Fatigue appeared to catch up with the team after a demanding stretch of travel and games.
Despite the result, Wright, Gaudreau and Evans found the back of the net, while Catton and Kaapo Kakko each contributed two assists.
The Kraken will now turn their attention to returning home, where they have six of their next seven games scheduled at Climate Pledge Arena before traveling to Finland.
Seattle’s performance in Florida was a reminder that even a promising road trip can end on a difficult note. The challenge now will be to regroup, tighten up defensively and rediscover the energy that helped the team succeed earlier in the trip.
For the Panthers, Saturday night was a historic offensive showcase. For the Kraken, it was a tough lesson in how quickly a game can get away from a team when mistakes begin to pile up.
The final score told the story: Florida Panthers 8, Seattle Kraken 3.