Kuzmenko, Canucks recover for win against Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal and an assist for the Vancouver Canucks, who recovered for a 5-3 win against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Kuzmenko gave Vancouver a 4-3 lead from a sharp angle in the right face-off circle with 4:57 remaining after Sam Reinhart scored twice earlier in the third period to tie it for Florida.

Elias Pettersson also had a goal and an assist, J.T. Miller had two assists and Casey DeSmith made 34 saves for the Canucks (3-2-0), who had lost two in a row.

“Good feeling after this game,” Kuzmenko said. “I felt it was a very important game, we needed the win. We didn’t get off to a very good start last year (0-5-2 in first seven games). Today we made a comeback, and I love these guys because they were a big help to me.”

Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist, and Evan Rodrigues had two assists for the Panthers (2-3-0), who outshot the Canucks 19-4 in the third. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

“I don’t expect us to be able to play all three periods like we did the third,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “We can look a lot more like we did in the third on a more consistent basis, and I think we have. The seven periods going into the second here were pretty darn good. We were still in the game, it was 3-3.”

With his two goals in the third, Reinhart is tied with Vancouver forward Brock Boeser, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead with six. Reinhart has scored in four straight games.

“We were right there,’’ Reinhart said. “Their first two periods were really solid, and I thought they were heavier in the battle. They were winning the vast majority of the battles. We have been able to flip a switch in games, so I liked that again tonight. But we needed to be more urgent in the battle.

“Give them credit. They were really solid tonight.”

Quinn Hughes gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season on a power play at 11:09 of the first period, scoring with a wrist shot from beyond the circles.

Barkov tied it 1-1 just 20 seconds later at 11:29, going forehand to backhand against DeSmith for his first goal of the season.

Carson Soucy put Vancouver back in front 2-1 on a power play at 10:41 of the second period with a wrist shot from between the circles.

It was Soucy’s first career power-play goal.

“In the last 20 seconds I am not a fan of having four forwards out there, so we usually go with two [defensemen],” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said with a smile. “He will be in my office asking for PP time now, but that was a great goal.”

Pettersson made it 3-1 at 11:15 from the left circle after a feed from behind the net by Kuzmenko.

Reinhart cut it to 3-2 at 6:10 of the third on a rebound, then tied it 3-3 off a feed from Rodrigues at 14:01.

Boeser scored an empty-net goal at 17:50 for the 5-3 final.

“The crowd started getting into it at 3-3, and we have been known over the past couple of years to let leads like that slip away,” Hughes said. “For us to kind of hold our ground, have confidence and see Casey make some big saves was great. We had guys ready to play and who wanted to win.”

NOTES: With 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in five games, Pettersson is tied with New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes for the NHL lead. … It’s the first time the Canucks have scored at least six power-play goals through their first five games since the 2012-13 season. … Miller won 14 of 27 face-offs (51.9 percent). … Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe was minus-3 in 20:53 of ice time.