Hurricanes score late in overtime to defeat Panthers

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Noah Hanifin scored with two seconds remaining in overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on Saturday.

The defenseman followed his rebound after a save by James Reimer to score on a backhand.
"I just hopped over the bench and Elias Lindholm] found me," Hanifin said. "Great pass and I got a lucky rebound there. So it was good execution."
***[WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Hurricanes highlights]*
Cam Ward made 37 saves for the Hurricanes (11-9-5).
"It was a gutsy effort tonight," Ward said. "It was a game that got a little bit chippy, and I'm proud of our guys for sticking up for one another. We realize that this is our only home game for almost two weeks."
Reimer made 44 saves for the Panthers (10-13-3), who lost to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Friday.
Florida forward Aleksander Barkov tied it 2-2 with 1:56 left in the third period on the rebound of Aaron Ekblad's shot.
Lindholm gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 14:02 of the first period when he redirected a centering pass from Sebastian Aho. It was the Hurricanes' third power play.

"I didn't like our start, took too many penalties," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "So we spent a ton of time in our zone. I thought we answered the bell in the second period."
Nick Bjugstad tied it 1-1 at 4:52 of the third period when he scored from below the right face-off circle on a bad-angle shot.
Jeff Skinner gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead at 8:17 on Carolina's second power-play goal. He broke up Florida's clearing attempt and then made a move to beat Reimer on the short side to end his eight-game scoring drought.
"Once you get it in that tight, you've got to get it up to beat most goalies in the League," Skinner said. "It's been a while for me personally, and obviously the situation in the game calls for a little more excitement on my end."

Goal of the game

Hanifin's goal with two seconds remaining in overtime.

Save of the game

Reimer stopped Faulk from the slot with 2:56 left in overtime.

Highlight of the game

Skinner's goal at 8:17 of the third period.

They said it

"Reimer was good. He gave us a chance to win, a heartbreaker with two seconds to go. Everybody knows our team is a pretty good shootout team. I thought there was a lot of character when the game got physical. I think we earned the point tonight" -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"[Hanifin] is a young guy (20) who's becoming a young man. There's an unbelievable upside and the ceiling is very high for him. He really skated tonight. Our defense has to skate to be successful. He has lots of confidence and he's played well all year. He loves the game and wants to be elite." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters
"[The backup role] is something I'm adjusting to, the mentality of not playing as much. My last outing wasn't very good, so you've got to be patient and wait for that next opportunity. I've been in this league long enough that I can turn the page." -- Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, who allowed four goals on 16 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 24

Need to know

Carolina's 47 shots were its most this season. ... Ward has 299 NHL wins (299-232-80). ... Carolina is 33-10-4 against Florida at PNC Arena. ... The Hurricanes will start a six-game road trip, their longest of the season.

What's next

Panthers: Host the New York Islanders on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: At the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-CR, NHL.TV)