The Florida Panthers’ roller-coaster begin to the season hit one other drop Wednesday night, as they were handed a 4-2 home loss by the Philadelphia Flyers at Amerant Bank Arena. The defeat denied Florida the prospect to secure even a single standings point, dropping the club to 12-10-1 on the yr.
Despite the strong build-up, head coach Paul Maurice was candid about what unraveled after the second intermission. After seeing his team fall behind during a late-game scramble for loose pucks, Maurice pointed directly at Florida’s lack of urgency within the third.
“I assumed we were slow with the puck [in the third period],” said Maurice after the sport via Panthers reporter Jameson Olive. “I believe they got in on some pucks. We were just late to some loose pucks that were laying around, they usually maintained that control.”
Florida seemed to be on top of things early, dictating tempo and winning races within the attacking third. The Panthers jumped on the scoreboard first when Sam Bennett pushed downhill toward the crease and connected with Brad Marchand on a crisp feed at 5:21 of the opening period, giving Florida a 1-0 edge.
Sam Bennett to Brad Marchand 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/XSPXJn81rr
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 27, 2025
“The primary and second [periods], I assumed we were really quick with the puck and our decisions,” Maurice added.
The boldness carried into the center period, where Carter Verhaeghe, fresh off a three-point showing in Monday’s win at Nashville, capped a fluid multi-pass sequence. Bennett delivered his second primary assist of the night on a highlight-thread assist that allowed Verhaeghe to hammer home the 2-0 goal at 5:16.
Philadelphia’s comeback began when Emil Andrae, scoring the second goal of his profession ripped in a shot from the purpose to chop Florida’s lead in half.
Desired to say how blissful I’m for Emil Andrae.
In just a month he’s gone from an AHLer who was heading towards a change of scenery trade, to playing quality top 4 minutes every night.
Been awesome with Jamie, and tonight he was one among the largest reasons they won.#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/vpQC8ANRdp
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) November 27, 2025
The Panthers pressed throughout the third period, but Flyers netminder Dan Vladar held firm, stopping 25 of 27 shots. The sport flipped decisively in the ultimate minute when Tyson Foerster’s rebound shot deflected painfully off Aaron Ekblad’s leg before Foerster fired again to interrupt the tie with 44.5 seconds remaining.
After a Thanksgiving reset, Florida returns to home ice Friday at 4 p.m. ET to host the Calgary Flames — a key opportunity to tighten puck-pressure, get back to winning races, and climb the Atlantic Division standings.