Ekblad, Panthers rally late to defeat Hurricanes in OT

RALEIGH, N.C. --Aaron Ekblad scored 16 seconds into overtime as the Florida Panthers rallied for a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Wednesday.

The defenseman took a stretch pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and scored on the backhand.
"Great pass," Ekblad said. "It was still in the air when it went by me, so I tried to reach out and catch it. I truly have absolutely no idea what to do on breakaways, so I just tried to slow down a little bit and make a move, and I think it just trickled in."
Florida tied the game 2-2 with 49 seconds left in the third period. With the goalie pulled, Sam Reinhart scored from the left circle on the rebound of MacKenzie Weegar's shot.
Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist, Huberdeau had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 16 saves for the Panthers (33-10-5), who were playing for the first time since a 5-2 loss against the New York Rangers on Feb. 1.
"Coming off that break, it was a grinding game and we were very ready to grind," Florida coach Andrew Brunette said. "We probably didn't have our best game with the puck, but I thought we did a lot of the right things. We defended in packs, we kept them a little bit to the outside and we had energy."

Teuvo Teravainen and Tony DeAngelo each scored, and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves for the Hurricanes (32-11-4), who have lost four of their past five.
"You've got to give them credit, they put the gas on," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's disappointing, but the better team won tonight. It's no question."
Teravainen made it 1-0 with 46 seconds remaining in the first period when he took a pass from Jaccob Slavin in the right circle, spun to his forehand and scored five-hole.
The Hurricanes had a two-minute 5-on-3 midway through the period when Panthers forwards Ryan Lomberg (roughing) and Patric Hornqvist (boarding) were each given minors. Bobrovsky made a right-pad save on Andrei Svechnikov before stopping Vincent Trocheck on the rebound, but that was all the Hurricanes could muster.
"We've got to score there," Brind'Amour said. "We had a good couple looks right away. In the first 20 seconds we had three chances, then we got cute. All you had to do was keep shooting the puck. Instead, we looked for something pretty. It doesn't work."

Jesperi Kotkaniemi nearly extended Carolina's lead early in the second period with a backhander toward an open net; however, Panthers defenseman Lucas Carlsson slid through the crease and batted away the shot with his stick.
"That was an unbelievable save," Brunette said. "It was 'Bob-like.' It was a big play at the time."
Barkov tied the game 1-1 at 13:09 of the second period. He drove to the slot against Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei and made a behind-the-back pass to himself before scoring on the backhand.
"He never ceases to amaze," Brunette said. "He's such an underrated, talented player. It was kind of fun that it was on national TV (on TNT). Hopefully the world got to see what he brings to us every night and maybe shine a light to how skilled he is and how hard he competes."
DeAngelo put the Hurricanes up 2-1 at 3:13 of the third period when his wrist shot from the left point deflected off the skate of Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling.
NOTES:Hornqvist had an assist, three shots and two hits in 14:47 after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. … Bobrovsky has won his past four starts and is 12-1-1 in his past 14. … Huberdeau has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in a five-game point streak. … Reinhart has scored a goal in three straight games. … Barkov has eight points (four goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak. … Carolina forward Sebastian Aho had an assist and has scored 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 23 games against the Panthers. … DeAngelo has 39 points (nine goals, 30 assists) in 40 games, for second-most by a defenseman through 40 games in Hurricanes history behind Mark Howe (47, with the Hartford Whalers in 1980-81).