The 2026-27 NHL season began in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday night, with all eyes on the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers. It was about as big a matchup as we could've gotten to start the campaign, with the sides combining to win the last three Stanley Cups. While the action online between the fan bases was sure to be spicy, the action on the ice would be as well.
17 of the 19 players in the Hurricanes' lineup tonight were also on the ice for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in June. The only newcomers were Nicolas Deslauriers, who sat in the press box in Vegas, and Charles Alexis Legault. Brandon Bussi drew his first Opening Night assignment in the net. Jacob Markstrom stood on the other end, making the first start in his second stint with the Panthers.
There wasn't a lot going on for the Canes during the first period. Most of the 20 minutes were spent in their defensive end. They only had three shots, with two coming in the final minutes. We got our first scrap of the new year, with Nicolas Deslauriers and Boko Imama squaring up, though that was about the only excitement through a scoreless frame.
We still didn't get any goals during the second period, even with each side getting a ton of power-play time. The Canes' man advantage looked disjointed, and while Florida's didn't convert either, Bussi was forced to make a few more stops. Both netminders were sharp when called upon, sending the first game into the final period with zeros still on the board.
If you watched the first two periods, the third didn't add anything you hadn't already seen. The Canes generated some chances. The Panthers got some looks. Neither goalie gave an inch. With one point in the bank, the sides skated into overtime. We nearly didn't get a goal for five more minutes, but Gustav Forsling hammered a one-timer home with 4.3 seconds left to ruin Opening Night.
The Hurricanes' power play is back, and not in a good way
I believe it was ESPN color analyst and former NHL defenseman Erik Johnson who said the only people in the building happy tonight were the coaches running the penalty kill. It's for good reason, too. The Hurricanes and the Panthers combined for 13 power plays in the game, and none of them ended with a goal. In fact, they yielded 11 total shots. Not exactly how they expected it to start.
Honestly, it was a very ugly night for the Canes' power play. They might've owned a slight 7-4 edge in shots, but they showed almost no urgency. There were two legitimately dangerous looks for the group. The top unit had a 4-on-1 late in the second period that ended with a flurry of chances, and the second unit just missed twice midway through the third.
There's no reason to overreact to how poorly it looked after one game. There's a major difference between how well they looked in the final preseason game against Nashville, going 3-for-4, and playing the Florida Panthers during a game that matters. If it continues, then we should be a little concerned. Until then, it's merely a blip.
The offense, in general, wasn't clicking for the Canes
For a team whose philosophy is to throw everything at the net, the Canes didn't really do that on Tuesday night. They had just one shot for most of the first period, and they were stuck on three well into the second. The Canes finished the night with just 15 as a team, led by four from Sebastian Aho. This was not the team we're accustomed to seeing.
It starts at the very top. While he had four shots, Aho was a step slow at almost every turn tonight. He took two penalties because he'd lost positioning. He had the Canes' best chance of the night, having his short-handed breakaway turned away. Andrei Svechnikov fanned on a few shots. The Stankoven line didn't get going until late. For whatever reason, they never got comfortable.
Their poor play in overtime epitomized their game perfectly. Their decision-making was baffling. They had just one shot, a low-danger chance from Nikolaj Ehlers. Otherwise, they failed to make the simple pass, didn't value puck possession enough, and it cost them dearly on the winning goal. I don't think we'll see a lot of this throughout the year.
Through it all, Bussi went save-for-save before a heartbreaking end
Along with excellent penalty killing, the real stars of the night were the goalies. Jacob Markstrom was one save better than Brandon Bussi tonight, but the Canes' netminder willed his team to overtime. For as bad as the Canes looked offensively, their defense looked as good as it usually does. Outside of a few small lapses, they didn't show much rust.
When those lapses led to scoring opportunities, Bussi was there to pick up his teammates. The Panthers had a few good tip chances, which Bussi denied. His biggest stop was a breakaway denial of Eetu Luostarinen late in the second. He finished the opener with 19 stops on 20 shots, giving us as good a start as we could've hoped for.
Bussi was very tough on himself after the game, calling Forsling's game-winner a "bad goal", though I don't think that he should shoulder much of the blame. The shot was wired through a screen, so he didn't pick it up until the last second. It was hardly an egregious goal to allow. I appreciate his taking accountability, but there's nothing for him to feel sorry for.
In the end, it's one game between the two best teams in the East
The Hurricanes will take their one point and have to be fine with it after a hard-fought opener. The game was a bit of a snooze fest for those who aren't used to watching these two collide, so I hope this wasn't your first NHL game. However, for those familiar with how these squads operate, this was about what we expected to see.
These are about as even two teams can possibly be, and they were each missing pivotal parts of their offense in Seth Jarvis and Brad Marchand. These two teams won't meet again until mid-January, so a lot can change between now and then. It would've been great to see the 1-0 flip the other way, but it didn't. That's just how it goes sometimes.
So, the Hurricanes won't be the first team to achieve a perfect season in NHL history. It just means they can turn their attention to the next game. The Washington Capitals will be in town on Friday night to begin a weekend back-to-back. The first road game of the new year sends the group to Philadelphia on Saturday night, and they had a pretty good time the last time they visited.
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