Lundell gets short-handed goal, assist in Panthers win against Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Anton Lundell scored a short-handed goal in the third period for the Florida Panthers, who pulled away for a 6-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Friday.

A.J. Greer scored the go-ahead goal early in the third, and Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers (14-9-1), who have won two in a row following a four-game skid. Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves, and Eetu Luostarinen and Aaron Ekblad each had two assists.

“I liked a big block of the second period, and then (we) were pretty solid in the third,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “I thought all of the lines had a pretty solid identity to their game.”

Seth Jarvis, Sean Walker and Eric Robinson scored for the Hurricanes (16-6-1), who had won two in a row and nine straight at home. Spencer Martin made 24 saves.

“There were some tough goals I’m sure (Martin) would love to have back,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You just can’t give that team goals, or any team in this league, but not that one.

"I don't blame Spencer for this game. We didn't come with what we needed to beat that team. Our top guys have got to be top when you're playing those guys, and we can't manage the puck like we did early."

The teams play again on Saturday in Sunrise, Florida.

Greer gave Florida a 4-3 lead at 4:58 of the third period, gathering a pass in the neutral zone and scoring on a wrist shot from above the circles.

Lundell, who also had an assist, extended it to 5-3 at 9:08 when he scored short-handed on the rebound of Luostarinen's shot on a 2-on-1.

Sam Bennett scored an empty-net goal with seven seconds remaining for the 6-3 final.

“We had a tough stretch, and it was important to get back to our game against Toronto,” Ekblad said of the Panthers, who defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 on Wednesday. “We found a way again to do it tonight, so I’m pretty happy and proud of our team.”

Jesper Boqvist gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 2:26 of the first period, scoring on a backhand through traffic from above the left circle.

“In this case, I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be tonight,” Martin said. “The best feeling is to get out there and play again. Whether I’m playing or not (on Saturday), I’m not sure, but I’ll be ready to go.”

Jarvis tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 5:42. Sebastian Aho made a stretch pass to Jarvis, who got behind the Florida defense and deked to his backhand to score in his third straight game.

Reinhart put the Panthers ahead 2-1 at 11:21. Aleksander Barkov intercepted Brent Burns’ clearing attempt and fed Reinhart, who cut to the slot and scored. He leads the NHL with 18 goals this season.

Verhaeghe extended it to 3-1 at 9:05, skating the puck from Florida’s defensive zone and scoring on a wrist shot under the crossbar.

“(Ekblad) made a good play, and (Mattew Tkachuk) hit me with speed,” Verhaeghe said. “I had a lot of speed going in, and I just tried to get the shot through. I’m happy it went in.”

Walker cut it to 3-2 at 6:24 of the second period. He used a screen to score on a wrist shot from inside the blue line.

Robinson tied it 3-3 at 17:18 after tipping Jalen Chatfield’s shot from the right point

“It’s how you lose (the lead). It’s a couple wristers from the point,” Maurice said. “The (Robinson) goal was their third shot of the period, so we didn’t feel we were under siege at that point in time. Then we were, and that happens in Carolina, and we know that. When they get one or two, they get on a roll. And they were very strong in the back half of the second period.”

The Hurricanes were outshot 13-9 in the third.

“Our puck management wasn’t great," Brind'Amour said. "It was a tough night overall. But we dug in, kind of got back into the game. Obviously, we gave up a short-handed goal. That’s death. So, it wasn’t great.”

NOTES: Verhaeghe has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. … Ekblad, selected No. 1 overall in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Panthers, played his 700th NHL game. … Walker recorded his 100th NHL point (28 goals, 72 assists) in 336 games. … Jarvis has seven points (three goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak.