RECAP: Hurricanes 9, Panthers 1

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Florida Panthers didn’t showcase much their signature intensity during a lopsided 9-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Friday.

Falling to 24-19-3, Florida still claims the season series over Carolina with a 2-1-0 record.

“We weren’t right from the start,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Then we found our way into the penalty box for a real tough third period. Haven’t had one of those in a long time.”

Keeping the Hurricanes off the board early, Sergei Bobrovsky went low and kicked out his left pad to deny Jordan Staal on a breakaway less than four minutes into the first period.

Maintaining their high pressure, the Hurricanes broke through when Nikolaj Ehlers beat Bobrovsky from the slot after a great centering feed from Staal to make it 1-0 at 18:35.

After 20 minutes, the Panthers trailed 12-3 in shots on goal.

Capping off a day that began with him signing a two-year contract extension, Uvis Balinskis evened the score for the Panthers in the second period when he ripped a slap shot from the right circle that sailed past Carolina goaltender Brandon Bussi to make it 1-1 at 1:19.

Playing in just his third NHL game, Sandis Vilmanis earned the first point of his career with an assist on the goal.

Per NHL Stats, Vilmanis and Balinskis, who will be teammates at the upcoming Olympics, became the first pair of Latvian-born teammates in NHL history to both factor on the same goal.

“We’re a small country,” said Vilmanis, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. “It’s awesome that I have someone here to help me and be there on the ice with me.”

Standing tall soon after, Bobrovsky shut down a breakaway from Sebastian Aho.

Following a faceoff win in the offensive zone, the Hurricanes regained the lead when Mark Jankowski potted a rebound after a shot from Alexander Nikishin to make it 2-1 at 13:10.

On the power play, Nikishin helped the Hurricanes pad their lead even further when he teed up a pass from Aho and buried a bomb from beyond the right circle to make it 3-1 at 16:28.

Following a multi-player altercation between the rival teams at the end of the second period, Sam Bennett was singled out by officials and received a 10-minute misconduct.

With the whistle continuing to blow in the third period, Florida’s deficit grew when Andrei Svechnikov scored right after Carolina’s 5-on-3 power play expired to make it 4-1 at 4:08.

Near the midway point of the period, Carter Verhaeghe appeared to cut into the deficit for the Panthers with a goal on the power play, but it was quickly waived off by the officials.

On the play, Eetu Luostarinen was pushed into Bussi. After Luostarinen regained his footing, Bussi gave him a knock with his blocker, which tied up his stick. Right after that altercation is when Verhaeghe sent the puck sailing into the twine from the high slot.

Even though all contact was instigated by Bussi, the officials still called interference.

“I was doing math on the bench,” Maurice said of challenging the questionable call from the officials. “I thought the likelihood of us coming back 4-1 the way we were playing was less of a chance then that thing getting turned over.”

Denied that momentum-changing moment, the Panthers fell deeper into a hole.

After Ehlers lit the lamp on the power play to push Carolina’s lead to 5-1 at 11:17, Taylor Hall added a power-play goal of his own to make it 6-1 at 11:38. Sending a shower of hats to the ice, Ehlers earned his third goal of the game and increased the lead to 7-1 at 13:03.

All three goals game within a span of just 1:46.

With 1:37 left in regulation, Hall struck again to make it 8-1.

Just 12 second later, Eric Robinson touched the twine to lock in the 9-1 win for Carolina.

With an immediate chance to bounce back, the Panthers will visit the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

“I think it’s good,” forward Anton Lundell said. “In 24 hours, we go again. Just going to get ready for tomorrow because we want to play a better game. Just learn from this game and reset.”

THEY SAID IT

“He’s earned it. He’s played well for us. He tried right straight through that whole game.” – Paul Maurice on Sandis Vilmanis earning his first NHL point

“I think we just weren’t ready for it – that speed, that aggressive hit on us. We just didn’t have our game here. It’s unfortunate.” – Sandis Vilmanis on tonight’s loss

CATS STATS

- The Hurricanes went 4-for-5 on the power play.

- Eetu Luostarinen had a team-high three hits.

- Niko Mikkola blocked a team-high three shots.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made seven high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will close the book on their six-game road trip and wrap up their back-to-back when they battle the Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch in South Florida, click HERE.