RECAP: Panthers 5, Hurricanes 2

RALEIGH, N.C. – It was just four days ago that the Florida Panthers scored three goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period to pull off a stunning comeback and beat the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena.

This time, they didn’t want to wait as long.

Down 2-0 entering the third period on Tuesday, the Panthers scored four goals in the first 10 minutes of the final frame to come from behind once again and head into the holiday break with a 5-2 win over the Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.

“It’s a big win for us,” said goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 17 of 19 shots to pick up his 15^th win of the season. “They’re a good team. The [first] two periods were tough for us, but we battled through, we worked hard, and we got rewarded in the third period.”

Heading into the holiday break with a head full of steam, the Panthers have won eight of their last 10 games and occupy a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference at 20-14-2.

For a team overwhelmed by injuries, you couldn’t have asked for better than that.

“We could've been in a world of hurt going into Christmas, almost an insurmountable task,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “And the opposite is true. We're 8-2 in our last 10. The two games we lost were on back-to-back nights. I'm really proud how they stuck together."

Opening the scoring in the first period, the Hurricanes an early lead when Eric Robinson beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a short-side snipe from the right circle to make it 1-0 at 4:11.

A tight-gap game, the first period finished with just 10 combined shots on goal.

After killing off a power play to start the second period, the Hurricanes doubled their lead when Andrei Svechnikov flew out of the box, took a tape-to-tape stretch pass from Jordan Staal and fired a shot through Bobrovsky’s five-hole on a breakaway to make it 2-0 at 1:58.

Keeping Carolina from tacking on another goal soon after, Bobrovsky lunged to his right to rob Staal on a shot from the doorstep that came at the end of a slick passing sequence.

Struggling to generate, the Panthers had a season-low eight shots on goal after two periods.

But from that point on, they flipped a switch.

Cutting the deficit in half shortly after Frederik Andersen robbed Anton Lundell on a shot from the slot, Niko Mikkola sent the puck off a defender’s skate and into the back of the cage to get the Panthers on the board and bring the score to 2-1 at 3:53 of the third period.

Less than three minutes later, Luke Kunin netted the equalizer to make it 2-2 at 6:17.

“We found a way to get it done and find our game in the third,” Kunin said.

Momentum now fully on their side, the Panthers wasted no time in taking the lead, with Anton Lundell beating Andersen with a perfectly placed one-timer from the center of the left circle off a sweet dish from Sam Reinhart to make it 3-2 at the seven-minute mark.

Soon after, Sam Bennett buried a snipe from the right circle to make it 4-2 at 9:57.

All four goals came within a span of just 5:04.

“You could feel and see how we responded after those two periods,” Mikkola said. “I think that was a playoff period for us. Really happy with how we showed up in the third.”

Adding one more goal for good measure and ushering in a wave of groans throughout the arena, Seth Jones extended the lead to 5-2 when he deposited a dish from Reinhart, who finished with three assists, on the power play to essentially put the game to bed at 15:21.

Having already done it before, they never doubted they could come back against Carolina.

“You know it’s in the locker room,” Mikkola said. “You know the comeback is possible.”

THEY SAID IT

“You get on a roll in this league, and emotion is such a huge part of it. A goal from the fourth line, those guys work so hard and haven’t had a lot to show for it for their hard work. That had a lot to do with it.” – Paul Maurice

“I have the full belief in the group that they’re going to do their thing.” – Sergei Bobrovsky

“We were rolling there in the third. Every line was doing a good job of just keeping it simple.” – Luke Kunin

“We started hitting. That was the key today.” – Niko Mikkola

CATS STATS

- The Panthers scored five goals in a period for the first time since April 6, 2023.

- Sam Reinhart recorded his fifth three-assist game as a Panther.

- The Panthers have recorded three multi-goal comebacks in the third period this season.

- Brad Marchand extended his point streak to six games.

- Anton Lundell has scored in six of his last 10 games.

- Sergei Bobrovsky has tied Terry Sawchuk (445) for the eighth most wins in NHL history.

WHAT’S NEXT?

After enjoying a well-deserved break for the holiday, the Panthers will return to action with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.