Recap: Canes Suffer First Regular Season Loss In Florida

SUNRISE, FL -The Carolina Hurricanes season-opening streak of nine consecutive wins finally came to a close Saturday night, falling to the Florida Panthers by a score of 5-2.

The Turning Point:
If you tuned into the game 38 seconds late, you had already missed one of the most crucial moments of the contest.
A rare penalty to Jaccob Slavin gave the Panthers their first of four first period power plays, three of which they would take to the bank.
With under ten seconds to go until what could've been a successful penalty kill, Anthony Duclair put the Panthers up 1-0 with a shot that beat Frederik Andersen.
After a Canes power play chance was washed away by an Andrei Svechnikov minor, the Cats would then strike in the final ten seconds of another man advantage. This time it was Frank Vatrano to make it a 2-0 game.
An even strength goal 3:12 later made it 3-0 and then to conclude the first period scoring the Panthers completed their snowball effect with Patric Hornqvist's first of the season.
Undoubtedly it was the roughest period of the season for the Canes, who ultimately were not able to come back from the four-goal defecit.

Raanta's Entrance & Exit
After the quartet of goals beat Andersen in the first, Antti Raanta entered in relief for the start of the second period.
The ideology likely was to give Andersen some time off and let his counterpart get some work in a contest that was already a low-pressure situation. That plan was thwarted after just 12:22.
Raanta came out of his crease to play a slow approaching puck in the Canes defending end, but after a slight moment of hesitation before going to make the play, the 32-year-old Finnish netminder was met at the point of play by Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg.

that was deemed worthy of a five-minute major and a game misconduct to Lomberg also brought the night to a close for Raanta, who left the ice with the Hurricanes training staff.
Andersen then returned to the net he was removed from, where he'd go on to stop 12 more shots the remainder of the way. To little surprise, Raanta did not return.
Bright Spots
In his third NHL game Canes forward Seth Jarvis was yet again a high point for the club, providing energy throughout the final 40 minutes.
Starting with a strong shift in the early portion of the second period of play alongside Derek Stepan and Steven Lorentz, #24 became more and more noticeable as the final two periods went on. In the third he was promoted to a line with Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast, where that trio then continued to provide pressure in the team's attacking end.
Speaking of Fast, a tremendous setup by Jaccob Slavin led to the fifth goal of the season already for "Quickie". An average of a goal every other game for the Swedish winger has certainly become a welcomed contribution for the team.

They Said It:
Rod Brind'Amoursummarizing the evening in a few thoughts, post-game:
"Special teams was the difference tonight. We were terrible and they were good."
"We could've maybe even won this game and I would still be irate. That was not good. Guys know how to self-evaluate the game. We can't have just five guys come to play. We need everyone. And we weren't sharp. Special teams was the game, but there were too many breakaways and odd-man rushes. Things we just don't give up. Good for them, they played a hard game, they did what they needed to do and we certainly didn't."
Jaccob Slavinon Brendan Smith, who made his Canes regular season debut tonight:
"He's been waiting a long time, so for him to come in is awesome for him. He brings a physical presence on the ice and plays a hard game. I thought he played fine tonight, I just thought we didn't back it up as a team."
What's Next?:
The team now flies to Tampa where it will practice tomorrow and Monday ahead of their first regular season meeting against the Lightning.