2023-24 Regular Season, Game 56: Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers (Postgame)

A heavyweight clash took place in Raleigh on Thursday night as the Hurricanes and Panthers met for the second time this season. Florida dominated the first encounter, beating the Canes 5-2 in Sunrise in their first meeting since the Eastern Conference Finals. While that meeting went terribly, this is a new Hurricanes team. Both teams entered the game red hot, especially the Panthers, who were looking to tie the NHL record for the longest road win streak. The Canes aimed to kill that streak while extending their win streak to four games.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

CAR (19:41)- Sebastian Aho (21) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (21) & Jesper Fast (9))

My Thoughts

I don't know; I think we have a new rivalry brewing. This game was almost everything we could've asked for. The anticipation for this battle was palpable in the days leading up to it. Two of the league's best were set to go to war, and that's exactly what we got. Now, there is going to be a small caveat to it, with Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling both exiting after the first period with injuries. I'm not saying that gives the Panthers an excuse because we could easily point to Andrei Svechnikov not being available for the Eastern Conference Finals and how that could've slightly changed the series. Tkachuk's injury was unfortunate. You always want to face a good team at their best, and there are few in the league better than him. Still, the Canes won the game in regulation, barely, and I'm not going to ask questions about it. 

Big-time players step up in big moments. It's something that is beaten over our heads whenever we see the best create lasting memories. Tonight, Sebastian Aho and Pyotr Kochetkov provided those memories. This team's flare for the dramatic is well-documented. Almost a month ago, Dmitry Orlov scored with less than 40 seconds left, and Aho was the hero of a scoreless game in overtime on Whalers Night less than two weeks ago. On this night, Aho made sure to get it done before the end of the third period. It's a good thing he did, too. Just a few minutes earlier, he missed a wide-open net, allowing the Panthers to go down and score a goal that was eventually taken away after a successful challenge. 

In the net, we were all just living in Pyotr Kochetkov's world. He and Sergei Bobrovsky had an incredible battle for 60 minutes, but it was Kochetkov who got the last laugh. Each had a highlight-reel stop in the game. Bobrovsky stoned Martin Necas late in the second period with his pad, while Kochetkov sprawled to get his arm on Evan Rodrigues' chance early in the third. Both goalies got help from their iron tonight, too. Bobrovsky was especially lucky in the third period. Along with Aho's miss, Necas fanned on a rebound opportunity during Carolina's lone power play that would have absolutely ended up in the back of the net. In the end, Kochetkov was just a little better than Bobrovsky.

The Canes' penalty kill once again stepped up and saved the day. Early in the third period, Jordan Staal took a double-minor for high-sticking that put the kill on the ice for four minutes. The first half of the kill went smoothly, but it got a little bumpy the longer it went. Fortunately, Kochetkov was on his game to turn the Panthers away. Florida ended the night with 12 shots on three power plays, but none of them got past Kochetkov.

Despite being in the same division for a long time, the Canes and Cats never had much of a rivalry. I'd always classified the Bolts and Capitals as bigger rivals during the Southeast days, with the Rangers, Devils, and Bruins joining the ranks during the team's return to relevancy in the last six years. A lot of that is because they were never good at the same time until recently. It was clear the longer this game went on that there was still plenty of anger left over from the conference finals. Brett Pesce wanted a piece of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour in the third period. There was an exchanging of pleasantries after the final horn tonight, setting up even more anticipation for when they meet in three weeks in Raleigh.

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Tony DeAngelo- 3 shots, 13:43 TOI

While he was on the ice less than the rest of the defensemen tonight, I thought DeAngelo was good when he had his chances. He did it in all three zones, too. His best moment of the night was the post he rang in the second period. With rumors swirling about him being moved at the trade deadline in a few weeks, this was a solid showcase for him. 

2nd Star- Sebastian Aho- 1 goal

This is another in a long line of incredible moments that Aho has provided this fan base. His goal with 18.9 seconds left is the fifth-latest go-ahead goal in franchise history and the third-latest since relocation. He has eclipsed 60 points for the sixth time in his career, with this goal being his biggest of the season to this point. Aho also brought a physical edge, tying for the team lead with five hits.

1st Star- Pyotr Kochetkov- 44-save shutout

Though I wouldn't classify this as a "stolen game" by Kochetkov, it was certainly special. Not only did he outduel a former Vezina winner, he set a new career high in the process, stopping 44 shots. Some of them were tougher than others, but it was his ability to flush the goal that was taken off the board in the final minutes that stood out. Florida continued to push, but Kochetkov was ready to turn them away. He has been incredible over the last two months, with this being his Magnum Opus. 

Up Next- The Canes will play a back-to-back this weekend, preventing us from enjoying this victory too much. The Dallas Stars will be in town on Saturday night before the team hits the road to face the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. The Buffalo stop will be the first in a three-game trip that includes stops in Minnesota and Columbus.