Ryan breaks tie to help Hurricanes defeat Panthers

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Derek Ryan scored to break a third-period tie, and Scott Darling made 30 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Ryan's third goal of the season gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 9:35. When goalie Roberto Luongo bobbled a long shot by Justin Williams, Ryan batted the rebound out of the air with the shaft of his stick.
"It was one of those games where we were searching for that big goal," Ryan said. "Winning teams are able to find that big goal, especially at home, tied, going into the third. You've got to make sure you get those points."
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Hurricanes highlights]
Luongo made 46 saves in his 500th game with the Panthers (4-8-2), who have lost five in a row (0-3-2). Luongo passed Terry Sawchuk for third in games played by an NHL goaltender with 972.
Defenseman Roland McKeown, playing his second NHL game, had two assists for the Hurricanes (5-5-3), who ended a four-game losing streak.
"The biggest thing is you've got to believe you can play in this league," McKeown, 21, said. "When you get the opportunity, you've got to show what you have. I'm doing my best to do that."
Brock McGinn gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 12:17 of the second period when he poked in the rebound of Noah Hanifin's shot.

"You add up those two goals, they're not six feet from the net, right? It's no secret," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said.
The Panthers made it 1-1 on their first power play. Vincent Trocheck gained the offensive blue line with speed before executing a give-and-go with Jonathan Huberdeau. Trocheck drove the net and cut across the slot for his seventh of the season at 14:06. Luongo started the play with a pass to Trocheck and earned the second assist.
Williams scored an empty-net goal at 18:46 of the third to make it 3-1.

Goal of the game

Ryan's go-ahead goal at 9:35 of the third period.

Save of the game

Luongo stopped Jeff Skinner at 1:01 of the second period with a sprawling glove save.

Highlight of the game

Trocheck's goal at 14:06 of the second period.

They said it

"The whole team, we've all got to get on a roll. We've got to get our specialty teams on a roll, we've got to get everything fixed. It's time to dig in. It's desperation time. We're well aware of that." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters
"I didn't think we started on time tonight. They took it to us the first few shifts and then we got into penalty trouble, obviously. Then we spent too much time with the same guys killing penalties. When it's time to pour it on offensively, we've got guys with not a lot of juice left." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"He's an incredible goalie. I've watched him play my whole life. It's my third time playing against him, and it's always pretty cool to play against a guy who has all those accolades and all the games he's played. It's something you can tell your kids, that I got to play against Roberto Luongo." --Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling

Need to know

Six Florida penalty killers each had more than four minutes of shorthanded ice time killing five power plays. … Luongo's next win will move him into fourth place in NHL history. He is tied with Curtis Joseph at 455. … The Hurricanes are averaging 45.5 shots in the past four games.

What's next

Panthers: At the Buffalo Sabres on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-CR, NHL.TV)