"Clawed": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 23: Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers

The Hurricanes started the weekend home-and-home with a late afternoon tilt against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Friday. Riding high after beating the Rangers on Wednesday night, the team looked to get right back to it with the Florida Panthers arriving. The Canes also put their nine-game home win streak on the line as they tried to improve their impressive home start. With the leading goal scorer in the league visiting, the Canes aimed to silence the Cats' offense and give the Caniacs something exciting on Black Friday.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

FLA (2:26)- Jesper Boqvist (4) (Anton Lundell (10))

CAR (5:42)- Seth Jarvis (7) PP (Sebastian Aho (18) & Shayne Gostisbehere (13))

FLA (9:05)- Sam Reinhart (18) (Aleksander Barkov (17))

FLA (11:21)- Carter Verhaeghe (7) (Matthew Tkachuk (12) & Aaron Ekblad (11))

2nd Period

CAR (6:24)- Sean Walker (2) (Jack Roslovic (3) & Shayne Gostisbehere (14))

CAR (17:18)- Eric Robinson (6) (Jalen Chatfield (6) & Jackson Blake (3)

3rd Period

FLA (4:58)- AJ Greer (3) (Uvis Balinskis (7))

FLA (9:08)- Anton Lundell (8) SH (Eetu Luostarinen (6) & Aaron Ekblad (12))

FLA (19:53)- Sam Bennett (11) EN (Evan Rodrigues (7) & Eetu Luostarinen (7))

My Thoughts

This game was ugly for all parties involved, especially the two goalies. It came down to who would win the third period, which has historically been the Hurricanes this season. Instead, the Panthers got the go-ahead goal early and stepped on the Canes' necks the rest of the way. I'll get the positives out of the way for the Canes because their shining moment came during the second period. They entered the frame down by two goals and worked their way even by picking on Sergei Bobrovsky. Sean Walker's shot should've been caught. Instead, it eluded Bobrovsky's glove to get Walker his 100th point. Then, Eric Robinson parked in front of Bobrovsky and redirected a shot by Jalen Chatfield to get the Canes even late in the period. The Canes were better in the second period, not allowing the Panthers to capitalize, especially during their power play with a one-goal lead.

We can argue semantics about the AJ Greer goal having seven Panthers on the ice, but it doesn't negate that the shot came from the other side of Raleigh. Spencer Martin had a tough game, allowing too many shots from beyond the dots to beat him. I'll free him of blame for Sam Reinhart's snipe and Anton Lundell's short-handed backbreaker. However, the opening goal on the backhand was soft. Carter Verhaeghe has a wicked shot, but that's too far out to not be handled. Then, Greer's winner was bad, too. Martin was great during the second period, keeping the Canes in it. Unfortunately, the worst goal he allowed became the most important. 

As always, one man isn't to blame for a loss. The power play scored early to tie it at one but went silent the rest of the way, especially during two of the most critical points in the game. Late in the first period, there was a weird sequence where the Panthers took three penalties in less than two minutes, giving the Canes' power play a lot of time to cut into Florida's two-goal lead. Instead, they laid an egg, failing to produce anything of substance to swing momentum back in their favor going into the second period. Then, they had a chance to work down a goal. The first unit spent too much time passing the puck before the second unit allowed a short-handed goal to effectively give Florida the victory. Getting a power-play goal for the fifth straight game is good, but it didn't reach the level of effectiveness it did against Dallas and New York this week. 

When We Meet Again- The Canes will have to get back on the horse tomorrow by traveling to Sunrise to complete the back-to-back. The good news is that Florida is playing under the same circumstances. Rod Brind'Amour made it clear that Pyotr Kochetkov is doubtful for Saturday's game, leaving us with either Spencer Martin again or Yaniv Perets making his first start. It's similar to a few weekends ago when we weren't sure whether Kochetkov would be ready to play against St. Louis. The answer seems clear to me. You have to start Perets tomorrow and let whatever happens happen. Will it be like Kochetkov's first start or Jack LaFontaine's? Whatever the case, you let it be what it will be. Martin has given you three starts during the toughest week of the season and gotten two wins. Let Perets have this moment, good or bad, and let it be a learning experience. If the Canes lose, so what? If they win, even better. 

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Seth Jarvis

This is the type of game when +/- becomes an unreliable stat because I thought Seth Jarvis played a good game despite a game-worst -3. His goal in the first period was huge, at the time, and he had several other good chances throughout the period. He finished with four shots and four blocks. It was a tough game for the Canes all around, so there isn't a great choice. 

The Road Ahead- Once they finish in Sunrise, the Canes' December schedule is considerably lighter. They begin the month with visits from Seattle and Colorado before traveling to Long Island for their first meeting with the Islanders.