Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
The Florida Panthers needed a statement third period in Salt Lake City, and they delivered their sharpest push of December.
After watching a two-goal lead vanish by the second intermission, Florida reset, tightened its pace, and overwhelmed the Utah Mammoth with 19 third-period shots. The final one, Anton Lundell's slick redirect in front, sealed a 4-3 win and extended the Panthers' point streak to four games. It was the kind of finish that felt earned, not lucky, and one that hinted at a team rediscovering its urgency.
Sam Bennett continues to look like a player rewriting his own October narrative. He buried two goals and added an assist, driving possession and winning interior battles all night. Carter Verhaeghe chipped in two points of his own, pushing his December scoring pace into the territory Florida needs from him. Their chemistry has become a critical stabilizer while Aleksander Barkov works toward a return.
Utah stayed alive almost entirely because Karel Vejmelka refused to crack. He turned aside wave after wave of Panthers pressure before finally yielding on Lundell's net-front touch. Dylan Guenther scored twice on breakaways, punishing Florida mistakes in transition, but the Mammoth could never match the Panthers' sustained pressure.
Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett fuel Florida Panthers comeback
As a fan, that third period felt like the team remembering who they want to be, aggressive, layered, and connected.
Florida's 3-0-1 stretch comes at a perfect time, with the league-leading Colorado Avalanche waiting Thursday. If the Panthers want to measure themselves against the NHL's best, this is the runway they needed. Bennett looks like the emotional engine again, Lundell is finding touch around the crease, and Verhaeghe's pace is stabilizing the top of the lineup.
Sergei Bobrovsky was steady when required, reading pressure well and battling through Utah's chances when the game threatened to tilt. The Panthers' defensive zone exits sharpened in the third, eliminating the turnovers that fueled Guenther's earlier strikes. When the structure locked in, the offense naturally surged.
This one mattered. Not because Utah sits outside the playoff picture, but because winning games the hard way is how Florida historically finds rhythm. Three straight wins, four straight with points, and now a heavyweight test in Denver.
Previously on Sunrise Hockey Insider