Recap: Canes Score Twice in Third to Top Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Carolina Hurricanes scored two power-play goals early in the third period en route to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Justin Williams posted a three-point night that included the game's first goal and the game-winning goal on the man advantage in the third period.
Here are five takeaways from the first game of the Mentors' Trip.

One
Leaders lead.
That's what Williams did from the drop of the puck, as he willed his team to victory in South Florida with three points.
"Justin, what a game. He led us," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He's the catalyst for everything. Everyone followed behind him and pulled it out."
When the Canes needed a goal, whether it was at the start of the game or looking for a difference-maker on the power play at the outset of the third period, Williams delivered.
"He definitely led the team to the win," Nino Niederreiter said. "That's exactly what we need from our leader. We all have to follow that."
"That's leadership in a nutshell," Brind'Amour said. "You don't say it; anybody can say it. You've got to go do it, day in and day out through the good and bad times. That's what he's done his whole career and this year for us. I can't say enough good things about him."
Two
Williams sacrificed his face to get the Canes on the board just over five minutes into the game. Brett Pesce had the initial shot, and the puck struck Williams in the right cheek and bounced in past James Reimer.
Williams immediately skated off to the room for repairs.

"Thank God it was Pesce. If it was anyone else, I probably would have broken my jaw," Williams joked. "You go to the net, and sometimes you get hit. … Fortunately, it went in."
"He's such a warrior," Niederreiter said.
Four stitches held together the gash created by the puck, but seeing his 16th goal of the season go in the net wasn't so bad, either.
"It feels a little better," Williams said with a swollen cheek. "Hopefully it doesn't blow up too much on the flight."
In the third period, with the game tied at three and the Canes going back on the power play, Williams walked in and buried a shot top-shelf that popped in and out of the net.

That goal lifted the Canes ahead, and they hung on for the win.
Three
Not only did the power play convert for the game-winning goal, but it also netted the game-tying goal just 19 seconds into the third period.
The Hurricanes began the final stanza of regulation with 69 seconds of power-play time with a clean sheet of ice, and they made the most of it. Faulk blazed a wrist shot glove-side high on Reimer to even the score at three.

"We needed it for sure," Brind'Amour said. "It's all about competing and finding ways to win. That's what we did."
"It won the game for us," Williams said of the power play.
Four
The Canes stretched their lead to two in the second period when Niederreiter kicked a rebound to his blade to deposit his 18th goal of the season and ninth with the Canes.

"You've got to try to find the puck somehow," Niederreiter said. "If the puck doesn't go into the net, hope for the rebound. That's exactly what happened."
But, the Panthers showed their teeth and fought back.
Florida netted three straight goals in the second period, including two on the power play, to take a 3-2 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.
Just over two minutes after Niederretier made it a 2-0 game, the Panthers' strong forecheck forced a turnover, and Evgenii Dadonov was left alone in the slot to score and halve the Canes' lead. Three minutes later, Dadonov fed Aleksander Barkov down low with a one-toucher, and Barkov smacked the puck in out of mid-air for the power-play tally, his fifth goal in his last three games. The Panthers converted again on their next power play, as Jonathan Huberdeau walked in and beat Petr Mrazek on his blocker side.
Brind'Amour utilized his timeout after that goal, an animated 30 seconds behind the bench for the first-year head coach.
"You would hope they respond, but I don't think I really needed to say anything. They were already saying it," Brind'Amour said. "Just needed to slow the game down for a second, in my opinion. More than anything, I probably just needed to get my frustration out and do it in a manner where the guys could get it."
"We were on board and were aware that we were dog poo poo at the time," Williams said. "It was a great comeback and the perfect time for a timeout."
The Canes stormed back early in the third with two unanswered goals, and a win's a win.
"It was a great comeback," Williams said. "We made it more interesting than I feel we had to, but it was a good character win."
"We made it a lot harder than we should have in that game," Niederreiter said. "We were up 2-0, and the way we played after that wasn't very acceptable. We knew we needed to be better. We started off in the third period and made sure we got the first goal and kept rolling after that."
"It was a gut-check win for us," Brind'Amour said. "At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how you get them done at this time of year."
Five
The Canes' mentors - a lively, affable collection of 14 fathers, a brother, an uncle and a father-in-law - filled a suite at BB&T Center.
And they made some noise.

It was a jovial bunch, especially in the first and third periods. Mark Martinook and Craig Williams led chants of "Let's go Hurricanes!"
When Mrazek would make a sharp save, Brad Pesce would turn around to Karel Mrazek, "Great save!"
"I'm so happy I'm a Hurricanes fan," Mark Martinook exclaimed after the Canes' second goal.

And, of course, there was a mentors' Storm Surge, complete with the clap and some sort of flossing/dabbing combo.

"It's always fun winning in front of our dads," Niederreiter said.
"It's a special time to have the dads here," Brind'Amour said. "We're playing for each other, but we're also playing for those guys who are here. It's just that little added incentive, and it means that much more for the guys in the room."
Up Next
The Hurricanes head to Dallas to face off with the Stars on Saturday evening.