The Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers met to begin their preseason duties on Sunday night in Sunrise, getting the home-and-home started just over a week before the real thing. Of course, the results of these games mean nothing, while the individual efforts could help determine who makes the roster with a few open spots remaining.
The Canes sent a very young group to face the Panthers, though the net belonged to Pyotr Kochetkov, who got his first game action since his rehab appearances in the AHL in April. Meanwhile, the Panthers put as close to their Opening Night roster as they could on the ice. Jacob Markstrom manned the crease for his first appearance back in Florida.
Despite being outmatched in just about every conceivable way, the Canes stuck with the Panthers for the entire first period. They threw everything they could at the net, and they got the first goal. Dominik Badinka's pressure forced Markstrom to mishandle the puck, allowing the Canes' defenseman to surprise him and bank it home from behind the net.
Dominik Badinka gets the preseason scoring started for the defending Stanley Cup Champs! 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZvhYigvkDQ
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) September 20, 2026
The Panthers tied it before the end of the period, with Brady Tkachuk scoring on the power play midway through the first period. Coming out for the second, Florida took control. Aleksander Barkov scored on a breakaway, and Cole Reinhardt got a friendly bounce off the iron 96 seconds later to give the home team a two-goal lead.
Carolina showed some heart. After drawing a 5-on-3, the Canes' power play needed eight seconds to strike. Justin Robidas finished a chance between the dots after some slick passing from Felix Unger Sorum and Charlie Cerrato. On a 4-on-4 just under 90 seconds later, Robidas swung around the net and found Bradly Nadeau alone in front of the net. Just like that, the Canes had tied it up.
Ultimately, Florida's lineup was too much. Reinhardt scored his second goal with a nice redirection. Niko Mikkola, whose shot Reinhardt tipped, scored one of his own in the final minute of the second period to restore the two-goal lead. Brady Tkachuk, who dropped the mitts with Charles Alexis Legault to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick, scored into the empty net to finish a 6-3 Florida win.
A good opening frame for Kochetkov was hurt by a rough second period
Having Pyotr Kochetkov start this game, regardless of who the Panthers were putting on the ice, was the right decision. That they iced their NHL team was a bonus. Against an inexperienced lineup, it meant that Kochetkov was going to see the puck a lot. That was certainly the case in the first period. The Canes were outshot 19-8; Kochetkov made 18 stops, and he looked really good.
The second period was a different story. The Panthers put four into the back of the net on just nine shots. I can excuse the Barkov breakaway because of poor defensive coverage, and Reinhardt's second goal was a tip. Otherwise, I wasn't a huge fan of Reinhardt's bar-down shot over the blocker or Mikkola's shot from the blue line.
Obviously, it's the preseason, so hanging losses on the goalie, especially under these circumstances, isn't a thing. He didn't see as many shots in the third period, finishing the night with 28 stops on 33 shots. I thought he played the puck well, outside of the tripping penalty he took on a missed poke check. Kochetkov will get more work this preseason, and he'll need to be a little better.
Players fighting for roster spots looked good, as did a few AHLers
There might've been some bad moments in this game, but the most important takeaways are going to be from those trying to take one of those last roster spots. On defense, Joel Nystrom and Dominika Badinka each looked excellent. Nystrom played over 20 minutes and picked up a secondary assist, while Badinka got the opening goal in just over 18:30.
Up front, Bradly Nadeau found the back of the net with one of his three shots, finishing tied for second on the team behind Badinka's four. He also led the Canes' forwards in time on ice at just under 20 minutes. Felix Unger Sorum also had a point, earning a helper on Justin Robidas' power-play goal. As the presumed favorites to earn one of the last spots, it was a good start to the preseason for each.
Even for a few players who aren't in line to crack the roster, there were some solid performances. While Robidas' path to the NHL is blocked, he was the only Hurricane with multiple points, including an excellent pass to Nadeau for his goal. It was far from a clean night for Cerrato, but he earned a helper on the power play and was a perfect 4-for-4 in the dot while up a man.
We're worried less about whether the Hurricanes win these games, though it would certainly be nice to end the night with one in the win column. Given the roster makeups tonight, the Canes were outmatched, but they went down swinging. They showed good resolve to draw even in the second period before the wheels fell off late in the frame. That's just how it goes sometimes.
Up Next: These two will be right back at it on Tuesday at the Lenovo Center. I'm not sure how the Canes' lineup will look, but it sounds like the Panthers could bring a similar lineup with them. With their set against Florida behind them, the Canes will play two against the Predators. Thursday night will be played at the Greensboro Coliseum before wrapping up the preseason in Tennessee on Sunday.
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