Florida Panthers Score 6, Flex Their Defense Against Hurricanes

The Florida Panthers have been pretty reliable in holding down leads the past few seasons, their smothering defense clamping down on teams and not allowing much through.

That style of play was on full display Friday afternoon in Raleigh.

Carolina, the second-highest scoring team in the NHL, did not get off a shot on goal in the third period until after the 10-minute mark.

By that time, the Panthers had taken a 2-goal lead and eventually left Raleigh with a 6-3 win over the Hurricanes.

The two teams, which were tied at 3 going into the third, play again this afternoon in Sunrise.

“We always talk about a 3-3 game, a tied game in the third period,” said Aaron Ekblad, who had two assists in his 700th NHL game and led the Panthers with 27:17 on 30 shifts.

“The day before, you probably would have asked for that situation, right? We feel comfortable in those games. We have been doing it for a few years now. To get a win is huge.”

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Florida was in control for much of the game even as Carolina held onto the puck throughout.

That is how good Florida’s defense was.

The Panthers set the tone early, scoring three goals off their first five shots against No. 3 goalie Spencer Martin.

Carolina is without its two top goalies due to injury, and the Panthers took advantage of that early with goals from Jesper Boqvist, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe.

The Hurricanes tied the score on a couple of long shots in the second that got past Sergei Bobrovsky — one went off the post and through, the other deflected in front and off of his glove.

Despite the two goals scored against in the second period, the Panthers felt really good about how they played in the first 40 periods.

“They got a couple,’’ Ekblad said, “but we didn’t waver in our confidence.’’

The third was simply the Panthers doing what they do best.

“We got the lead after 1, but I liked big blocks of the second and we were pretty solid in the third,” coach Paul Maurice said. “There was still some creativity to our game, we were still making plays. You don’t want to just bang the puck out against this team because their countergame is just too good.”

A.J. Greer gave Florida its lead back around the 5-minute mark before Anton Lundell scored a shorthanded goal started when Ekblad sprung Eetu Luostarinen on the rush.

Up 5-3, Carolina simply could not muster enough firepower against Florida’s defensive style to do much of anything.

It got to the point where Bobrovsky made an attempt to put a puck into an empty net.

The puck was blocked before it got too far out, but it was that kind of day for the Panthers.

This was their game from the start.

The Panthers have now won two straight after dropping four consecutive games.

One can expect the Hurricanes to come out flying today.

They may have to.

“We had a tough stretch and it was important for us to get back to our game against Toronto,’’ Ekblad said. “We did that. We found another way to do that here. Pretty happy and proud of our team right now.’’

ON DECK: GAME 25

CAROLINA HURRICANES AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise 
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Carolina Won 2-1
• This Season (Panthers Lead 1-0) — At Florida: Saturday; Jan. 2. At Carolina: Panthers 6, Hurricanes 3 (Nov. 29).
• All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 73-48-10, 11 ties
• Postseason History: Florida 1-0 (2023 ECF)
• Up Next for the Panthers: Tuesday at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m.