Recap: Canes Fight Back to Earn Point Against Panthers

The Carolina Hurricanes fought back to earn a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.
Vincent Trocheck's power-play goal tied the game at three in the latter half of the third period, but Jonathan Huberdeau found the back of the net in overtime for his second goal of the game.
"The way we finished that game was disappointing. We were in control in the first, and we kind of just let them back into it with sloppy play and not being sharp," Jordan Staal said. "We've got to find a way to get to the game we know we can play, the simplicity of getting in behind them, grinding them out and creating chances off of turnovers."

HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY | STATISTICS

The Difference

Jonathan Huberdeau factored in on three of the four Panthers' goals, and all three plays were highlight-reel quality.
In the second period, Huberdeau streaked down the near wing and sniped a shot over Alex Nedeljkovic's far shoulder to cut the Canes' lead in half at 2-1. Then in the third, Huberdeau hit a spin move and fired a backhand centering feed onto the tape of Alex Wennberg, who tied the game at two. In overtime, Huberdeau skated in alone and eluded Nedeljkovic's poke check and slid the puck past him for the deciding tally.

Plus/Minus

Plus: Vincent Trocheck
It's been almost a year since the Canes acquired Trocheck from the Panthers at the trade deadline, so his first match-up against his former team had been a long time coming - and you knew Trocheck was going to be hungry.
Trocheck helped the Canes salvage a point when he scored a power-play goal with 6:21 remaining in regulation. Parked alongside the net, Trocheck turned the blade of his stick to roof a deflection over Chris Driedger.

"He's engaged, and he competes," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We've been fortunate he's played so well. That was a big goal just to get a point for us."
Minus: The second half of the game
With about nine minutes left in the second period, Huberdeau netted a power-play goal to get the Panthers on the board.
"Everything changed after that," Brind'Amour said. "We were on our heels the rest of the way and were probably fortunate to even get a point out of it."
That goal gave the Panthers some momentum, and in the process, the Canes came off their game. They weren't as responsible with the puck and got away from playing the game that makes them successful: possessing the puck, getting it behind the defense, grinding out a forecheck and creating offense from there.
"That second half of the game we just didn't get to work. We let the other team back in, and they've got too much talent to do that," Brind'Amour said. "We have to be better for the whole game."

Stats Pack

5: Staal has scored five goals in his last four games. His seventh of the season opened the scoring late in the first period. The Panthers coughed up the puck in their own zone, right to Warren Foegele, who then threaded the needle through a pair of reaching sticks to Staal. With a step on Aaron Ekblad, Staal then snapped a quick shot Driedger's glove.

Staal leads the team in points (15) and is tied for the team lead in goals (7).
22: The Canes are making a habit out of quick strikes. After scoring 19 seconds apart and 27 seconds apart on Monday, the Canes scored two goals in 22 seconds late in the first period. Sebastian Aho followed up Staal's tally, doubling the Canes' lead with a redirection in the slot of Brett Pesce's point shot.

Aho now has goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
1: This marked the Canes' first loss at home this season (4-0-1) and their first loss in overtime or the shootout (4-1).

Quote of the Night

"It was a good first period. We were ready to play. We played our game. … The last two periods and OT, we were missing details. We were maybe a little sloppy with the puck on the blue lines. That's a great team. We just have to play better and keep our game going for a full 60 minutes." - Sebastian Aho

Up Next

The Canes host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and Saturday, the only two-game set of this five-game homestand.