The last time the Hurricanes and Panthers faced off, it required center Sebastian Aho to score a walk-off goal in the final 20 seconds of the game. However, with the new additions, the Canes scored four and shut out Florida for the second consecutive time.
Both trade deadline acquisitions in center Evgeny Kuznetsov and left wing Jake Guentzel got their first point as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes (40-20-6) in yet another playoff-esque matchup versus the Panthers (45-18-4). The second line consisting of Kuznetsov, Guentzel, and center Martin Necas was the best line on the ice — they accounted for two of the four goals.
“You can see whenever that line gets on the ice, it’s pretty electric,” said center Seth Jarvis.
Right from the get-go, it was chippy, with both teams getting involved in extracurriculars after the whistle on every play. The two teams have a history with one another, and this game proved there was no love lost. Each side reached double-digit penalty minutes, including Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura who, with five minor penalties, reached double-digits on his own.
Neither team capitalized on their respective power play opportunities throughout the game. The Hurricanes shut down the red-hot Panthers power play, which has been operating at above 30% since the turn of the new year. Despite being on the power play five times, the Canes didn’t find the net either as their powerplay has entered a scoring slump in the past three games.
In the first period, the Panthers had the early jump on the Hurricanes, quickly outshooting them in the first half of the period. One of their best chances came a minute in, when from a low-angle shot, the puck squeaked through goaltender Frederik Andersen but was cleared out of the danger area right after.
In just his third game back after coming off of IR, Andersen posted a 21-save shutout. Since returning, the Great Dane has posted a 0.955 save percentage, 1.01 goals against average and earned three wins.
“I’m just having fun,” Andersen said. “I don’t show it too much, but I’m loving it out there. It’s really fun being in this room again with everyone.”
All three of the Hurricanes’ non-empty-net goals were facilitated by a defenseman. The strength in this team comes from the back end, and when you have defensemen that have that offensive vision, they can set up plays, including the game’s first goal.
As a couple of Panthers forwards made a nonchalant change, defenseman Jaccob Slavin created a rush chance opportunity from a stretch pass to center Jordan Staal, who drove through the middle of the zone. Although the puck slipped away from him, it found Jarvis’ stick where he ripped a shot over the glove shoulder of Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
When the puck hit the net with 49 seconds left, PNC erupted in celebration after an emotionally fueled first period of play. The Canes carried their momentum from the end of the first right into the start of the second, where center Martin Necas scored his 21st of the season.
Causing chaos in front of the net, the Guentzel-Kuznetsov-Necas line drew four Panthers players around the crease. The puck tricked out where defenseman Dmitry Orlov slapped a one-timer — then, Bobrovsky pushed toward Necas, who launched a one-timer of his own and found twine.
After starting off the season with one of the worst plus-minus ratios on the team, Orlov has found his groove as the season has gone along. On both ends of the ice, he’s known exactly when to jump in on offense and when he needs to make a play on defense.
“I think he’s really taken off here this last second half of the season,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “He’s making those plays, the right reads. That’s the kind of player we knew we were getting.”
In the first 12 minutes of the second period, the Canes outshot the Panthers 11 to one. The two goals swung momentum in the Canes’ favor and took the wind out of the Panthers’ sails. During this period, defenseman Jalen Chatfield kept the puck in the zone and wired a pass to Kuznetsov in the middle of the slot.
With no one around him, Kuznetsov waited and waited before finally shooting and scoring on Bobrovsky’s blocker side. Hitting his iconic eagle celebration, the Russian received a standing ovation from the crowd when he got back to the bench.
“I understand why I’m here and why this team [brought me in],” said Kuznetsov. “Not just to be the funny guy and smile — they needed us to perform, get the points and help the team. It felt like today was the day we had to step up.”
With the game slipping away, the Panthers continued getting physical after the whistle in a game where there were seven roughing penalties between the two sides. Serving one of Chatfield’s roughing penalties was Guentzel, who, after he came out of the box to start the third, had a one-on-one with Bobrovsky where Bobrovsky just got a glove on his shot to deflect it wide.
As the Panthers made one last desperation push by pulling their goaltender, right wing Andrei Svechnikov iced the game with a shot from the other end of the ice that trickled across the goal line.
The Hurricanes will start a brief road trip versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, March 16, with a puck drop at 7 p.m.
