RECAP: Hurricanes 4, Panthers 1 (Preseason)

RALEIGH, N.C. – Trailing after two periods, the Hurricanes scored three goals within the first 4:16 of the third period to claim a 4-1 win against the Panthers at PNC Arena on Wednesday.

After sweeping their doubleheader with Nashville on Monday, the loss was the first of the preseason for the Panthers.

While the Hurricanes deployed many of their NHL regulars for the matchup, the Panthers brought a less-experienced lineup on the quick up-and-back trip. With that, head coach Paul Maurice said he knew his players would be in for a very tough challenge -- but that was also the point.

“It was better than expected in the first,” Maurice said. “I think our legs caught up to us a little bit as the game went on. You know what? I’m not really looking at these games to tell us where the Florida Panthers are in terms of their game. This was an opportunity for almost everybody that’s pushing for the handful of spots that we do have available to make their case.”

With that, the Panthers liked what they saw.

“Just about everybody made a case,” Maurice said. “There’s some good cases.”

Prior to puck drop, a special moment occurred when Skyler Brind’Amour, who is heading into his first professional season after signing a two-year contract with Florida’s AHL affiliate in April, skated over to Carolina’s bench for a picture with his dad, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour.

“Obviously it was really cool,” Brind’Amour said. “A dream come true to play in this building.”

After stopping all 13 shots he faced during his preseason debut against the Predators, Spencer Knight carried that momentum into the first period in Raleigh. Going 12-for-12 in the opening 20 minutes, he stood tall while helping the Panthers weather two early power plays.

Feeding off those big kills, Gerry Mayhew broke the ice on the power play to put the Panthers up 1-0 at 13:01. On the play, Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce accidently poked the puck past his own goaltender, Antti Raanta, while trying to get it away from Mayhew.

In the second period, the offense dried up for both teams as they grinded it out. But when put to the test, Knight was there once again to make the big saves when he needed to. After facing 12 shots in the first period, he saw just five in the second. Just as it was then, he stopped them all.

Near the midway point of the middle frame, Yaniv Perets replaced Raanta in Carolina’s net.

Finally cashing after a couple missed opportunities earlier in the game, the Hurricanes broke through on the power play when Stefan Noesen slipped down toward the blue paint and tapped a pass from Jesperi Kotkaniemi into the twine to make it 1-1 at 1:07 of the third period.

Giving the Hurricanes the lead, Ryan Suzuki carried the puck into the bottom of the right circle and roofed a shot over Knight’s shoulder to make it 2-1 at 3:43. Just 31 seconds later -- and with the home crowd fired up -- Brady Skjei buried a one-timer on an odd-man rush to make it 3-1 at 4:14.

With 1:39 left in regulation, Michael Bunting sent the puck into an empty net to make it 4-1.

“I think for the first 40 minutes we were pretty good,” said Panthers veteran forward Zac Dalpe, who’s captained the team’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte the past two seasons. “Obviously it looked like we ran out of gas, and then their goals came in bunches. I thought we were good for 40.”

CATS QUOTES

“It’s really important. There’s a whole bunch of teams in the league that won’t give you any ice to play on. You’ve got to adjust your game. The younger guys were better at adjusting their game than we were in Game 2 of the doubleheader against Nashville in the second period.” – Maurice on the importance of tough games like tonight for young players

“That’s the way we want to play. It might not be pretty at times, but it’s worked for us in the past. I guess it worked there. It’s something to build off of, for sure.” – Dalpe on the Panthers finding success grinding it out in the second period

WHAT’S NEXT?

Who wants to see more of Carolina?

The Cats will host the Hurricanes for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.