Hurricanes end Panthers winning streak at six

RALEIGH, N.C. --Jordan Staal scored twice in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes ended the Florida Panthers' six-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist, and Sebastian Aho had three assists for the Hurricanes (26-9-3), who are 4-0-1 against the Panthers this season. Petr Mrazek made 34 saves in his second game after missing 31 with a thumb injury.
"It was physical, but it was also really fast," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "They're high-octane. They transition really well. We weren't at our best, but our big guys got going there at the end and had some key moments."
Aleksander Barkov scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves for the Panthers (26-10-4).
"It was a hard-fought game," Florida coach Joel Quenneville said. "We had a chance to get up by a couple early in the game and didn't get it. It was still anybody's game. They had their turn, we had our turns."
Dougie Hamilton scored a power-play goal 45 seconds into the third period to tie it 2-2. He walked the blue line before sending a wrist shot through traffic that went under Bobrovsky's arm.
Staal gave Carolina a 3-2 lead at 8:52. His shot from the left circle trickled through Bobrovsky, and when Radko Gudas attempted to clear the puck off the goal line, it deflected into the net off the skate of Owen Tippett.

Staal then scored an empty-net goal with 1:40 remaining, and Jesper Fast added another with 56 seconds left for the 5-2 final.
"We had to be better," Staal said. "Our line wasn't great in the first two (periods). I thought we were getting outplayed. We started doing the things we wanted to do, moving the puck north-south. We were fortunate enough to find a way to get two points."
Florida took a 1-0 lead at 11:19 of the first period. Mrazek kicked out a pass attempt by MacKenzie Weegar in the slot, and Barkov chipped in the rebound on his backhand.
Trocheck tied it 1-1 when he redirected a centering pass from Aho for a power-play goal at 18:03 of the second period. Trocheck has scored one goal in each of the five games against his former team this season.
"I don't think there is any secret, it's just luck of the draw I guess," Trocheck said. "I've gotten some greasy ones against them this year."

Barkov scored 27 seconds later when he one-timed a pass from Carter Verhaeghe to put the Panthers ahead 2-1. Barkov has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past three games after missing the previous six with a lower-body injury.
"He just adds a whole new dimension to our team when he plays," Florida defenseman Anton Stralman said. "He's winning big draws in the defensive zone, making big plays offensively. He's just a blast to watch when he plays like this."
NOTES:The teams will complete the two-game set here Thursday. … Verheaghe had two assists and has scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games. … Weegar has scored five points (one goal, four assists) in a three-game point streak. … Florida lost for the first time in regulation this season when leading after two periods (18-1-1). … Trocheck has scored a point in 11 straight games he's played (six goals, nine assists); he missed eight in between with an upper-body injury. … Mrazek is 4-1-0 with an 0.99 goals-against average, .962 save percentage and three shutouts this season.