Sunrise, FL— The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Thursday.
With this win, the Hurricanes move to first in the Central division with a two-point lead over the Panthers.
The game was riddled with penalties, with 18 total penalties called. 11 of those penalties were called on the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes’ penalty kill was the story of the night, going 10-11 with two short-handed goals to win the game.
The Panthers had good chances to start the game, finally scoring with Alex Nedeljkovic unable to get into position. Alexander Barkov scored, with Patric Hornqvist assisting. Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky played fantastic, shutting down the Hurricanes in the first period. The Hurricanes got great looks but could not finish past Bobrovsky. To start the second period, the Hurricanes took over. The Hurricanes tied it 14 seconds into the second period. Jordan Martinook found the puck as he was crashing the net. Hurricanes continued getting great shots but could not take the lead. Bobrovsky shut down the Hurricanes when the Panthers were looking overwhelmed. The Hurricanes forced a penalty and capitalized on the man advantage. Nino Niederreiter scored on a rebound from a shot by Brett Pesce. Seven minutes later, Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho earned a shorthanded two on none on Bobrovsky. They passed it back and forth until Bobrovsky bit and Aho finished it. The Panthers got a breakaway by Owen Tippett, but he shot too high and missed the net. At the end of the period, the Panthers were on their heels, down 3-1.
The Panthers started the third period strongly but could not beat Nedeljkovic. After two penalties on the Hurricanes, the Panthers breakthrough. Barkov scores again to bring the Panthers within two. After the Hurricanes kill the penalty, Nedeljkovic continued to rob the Panthers left and right. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Hurricanes were called for yet another penalty. The Panthers pulled Bobrovsky to give them a six on four advantage, but Necas made another great defensive play, and Aho got the rebound off the wall to finish the empty netter.
The Hurricanes got their 31st win to take the lead in the Central division. The Panthers sit in second place, only two points behind. The Hurricanes face the Panthers again on Saturday with a chance to pull further into the lead.
Up Next
Hurricanes @ Panthers, Saturday April 24, BB&T Center
