Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers

Verhaeghe, with 2 goals and an assist, leads Panthers over Oilers 5-1

Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists and Brandon Montour and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers.

“When you don’t score in two games it sucks, so it was nice to see the puck go in the net,” said Verhaeghe. “We’re a resilient team and I think we came out the right way and it was nice to get the first couple of goals of the game, it started us off on the right foot."

Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves.

“You’re not beating these guys on home ice unless you get a goaltending performance like that,” Florida head coach Paul Maurice said. “He was quick and as dynamic and explosive as he was in the crease, he was also incredibly calm. You could feel it from the bench he wasn’t getting beat tonight. We needed that, we needed our A guys to step up and be great.”

Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers who have now lost two straight following an eight-game winning streak.

The Panthers started the scoring 5:33 into the opening period when Bennett sent the puck across the top of the crease to Verhaeghe, who put his 14th of the season past goalie Calvin Pickard. Pickard finished with 34 stops.

Verhaeghe then made a nice pass coming from behind the net to a wide-open Montour, who scored his first of the season with just over a minute to play in the first.

Just 29 seconds later, the Panthers made it 3-0 when Barkov shoveled in a rebound in tight for his 11th of the season.

Edmonton finally got on the board eight minutes into the second period as Hyman switched to his backhand and lifted his 18th of the season past Bobrovsky. Connor McDavid picked up an assist to extend his points streak to 12 games, a span during which he has netted 28 points and moved from 91st in the scoring race to sixth.

“Obviously a sloppy game for us, especially at the end of the first,” Hyman said. “It’s 1-0 and we give up two in the last two minutes (1:02, actually) on plays that we can control, getting outnumbered at the net, just not defending the way we have been."

Florida restored its three-goal advantage with four minutes to play in the second period as Bennett gained the zone on the power play and drove the net, deking Pickard to score on the backhand.

The Panthers added to their lead just 21 seconds into the final frame as Verhaeghe stopped short and took his time before rifling his second of the game up high.

Edmonton had a good chance to get back into the game four minutes later when Sam Gagner was awarded a penalty shot, but Bobrovsky made the stop.

Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura returned to the lineup after missing the last 13 games with an injury.

UP NEXT

Panthers: At Calgary on Monday night to finish a five-game trip.

Oilers: At the New York Islanders on Tuesday night to open a stretch of six straight on the road.

FLA wins series 2-0