SUNRISE, Fla. - A young Carolina Hurricanes roster erased a two-goal hole to force overtime on Monday, but ultimately fell short to the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 OT loss at Amerant Bank Arena.
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The Cats got the scoring started on their first shot of the night, beating Frederik Andersen just 56 seconds in, then doubled their lead midway through the second period on a Sandis Vilmanis goal in transition.
From there, though, Carolina mounted its comeback, tacking on two quick tallies late in the frame to level the score through 40 minutes. Givani Smith struck first, finding a hole with a wrister from the left circle following a faceoff. Just 2:22 later, Alexander Nikishin joined the fray, tying things up with a snap shot from range that eluded Cooper Black.
Florida regained its advantage 8:36 into the third, but Carolina responded again, this time through Justin Robidas, whose spinning shot from the high slot found twine and forced overtime. Unfortunately, the Canes' comeback bid would end in the extra frame, as the Panthers converted on a power play in overtime to take the win.
Andersen posted 18 saves on 20 shots in 40 minutes of action before Nikita Quapp turned aside 15 of 17 attempts as he logged his first preseason minutes as a Hurricane.
