Oops, Panthers Did It Again: Another Comeback vs. Hurricanes

A few days ago, the Florida Panthers made franchise history by rallying from a three-goal midway through the third and beating the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout.

Tuesday night in Raleigh was not as dramatic. The Panthers only trailed by two going into the third.

And it only took the Panthers 7 minutes of that third period to take their first lead of the night.

The Panthers scored three times within a span of 3:07 to take a lead they would not surrender in an eventual 5-2 win over the Hurricanes.

Florida goes into the Christmas break with wins in five of its past six and eight of 10.

On Tuesday, the Panthers trailed 2-0 early in the second and were struggling to get anything against Frederik Andersen and the Hurricanes when Paul Maurice gave his team a bench-side tongue lashing.

The Panthers only mustered five shots on goal in the second — and a grand total of eight in the first 40 minutes — before the tide turned and washed all over the Hurricanes.

Florida scored four goals off eight shots in the first 10 minutes of the third period for a 4-2 lead.

Niko Mikkola got the scoring started when his point shot went off a skate in front at 4:11.

Luke Kunin tied it off a fat rebound at 6:17, with Anton Lundell making it 3-2 just 43 seconds later.

A sharp bounce off the sidewall came back to Sam Bennett, he pulled in the puck, circled, then fired off a wrist shot for a 4-2 lead at 9:57.

That’s four goals in a span of 6:04 in the third.

Carolina came to Sunrise last Friday riding a five-game winning streak; the Hurricanes have now lost three straight.

NOTES: PANTHERS AT HURRICANES

• Florida has three multi-goal, third-period comebacks this season which is fifth-most in the NHL. Anaheim and Dallas lead with five apiece.
• With an assist Tuesday, Brad Marchand extended his scoring streak to six games.
• Sam Reinhart had three assists on Tuesday; Aaron Ekblad and Eetu Luostarinen had two each.
• Carolina is wearing its new white road jerseys at home twice this season — including Tuesday night, which meant the Panthers wore their home reds in Raleigh.
• The Panthers were limited to four scoring chances (off three shots on goal) in the first period per NaturalStatTrick.com — with two coming from a high-danger area. Carolina led 1-0 after the opening 20.
• By the time Seth Jones scored to make it 5-2, Florida had 12 scoring chances in the third alone.
• The Hurricanes have 40 first-period goals this season — only trailing Tampa Bay (43) and Colorado (42).

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Hurricanes 1, Panthers 0 (4:11 1st): Eric Robinson rolls in off the rush and sends one past Sergei Bobrovsky’s glove from the high slot.
• Hurricanes 2, Panthers 0 (1:58 2nd): Andrei Svechnikov races out of the box and puts a show between the skates of Bobrovsky.
• Hurricanes 2, Panthers 1 (3:53 3rd): Niko Mikkola lets a point shot fly and it hits the skate of Alexander Nikishin and past Frederik Andersen.
• Panthers 2, Hurricanes 2 (6:17 3rd): Aaron Ekblad keeps a puck in the zone, sends in a shot from the side wall that Andersen stops — only it goes right to Luke Kunin who scores from the left circle.
• Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2 (7:00 3rd): Anton Lundell hammers a backside pass from Sam Reinhart and, just like that, the Panthers have the lead.
• Panthers 4, Hurricanes 2 (9:57 3rd): Sam Bennett finds a puck off the boards and beats Andersen with a wrist shot.
• Panthers 5, Hurricanes 2 (15:21 3rd PP): Seth Jones is all by himself in the right circle and cashes in. Five goals on 12 shots on goal in the third for the Panthers.

FHN’S 3 STARS

• 1. Sam Reinhart, Panthers
• 2. Seth Jones, Panthers
• 3. Aaron Ekblad, Panthers

ON DECK: GAME No. 37

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series (Tied 1-1) — At Florida: Lightning 3, Panthers 1 (Nov. 15); Saturday. At Tampa Bay: Panthers 5, Lightning 1 (Dec. 15); Feb. 5
• Last Regular Season: Tied 2-2
• Last Postseason: Florida won 4-1 (Round 1)
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 80-54-19, 10 ties
• All-Time Postgame Series — Tied 2-2: Lightning won 2021 first-round, 2022 ECS; Panthers won 2024, 2025 first-round series