Coming out of the holiday after wins over Dallas and New York, the Carolina Hurricanes had another major test against the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Canes and the Panthers battled in a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday to renew what has become an exciting rivalry between the two sides. Unfortunately, the results were very one-sided in the champs' favor.
Friday: Florida 6, Carolina 3
Spencer Martin and Sergei Bobrovsky went head-to-head to begin the weekend, and neither played a particularly good game. The Panthers got the better of play in the first period. Jesper Boqvist snuck a silent backhander past Martin to open the scoring early, but the Canes responded on the power play after Sebastian Aho sprung Seth Jarvis for a beautiful breakaway goal. NHL leading goal scorer Sam Reinhart would restore the lead for the Panthers shortly after and Carter Verhaeghe made it 3-1 with a long shot as the Panthers looked deadly early.
The Canes worked their way back into the game in the second period. Sean Walker wristed a shot past Bobrovsky's glove early in the frame to record his 100th NHL point and bring the Canes within a goal. Late in the period, Jalen Chatfield's shot from the point was deflected by Eric Robinson to tie things up and give the Canes momentum heading into the third period.
Unfortunately, AJ Greer's early tally in the third would put Florida ahead for good. The Canes had a chance to even things on the power play, but Anton Lundell scored a short-handed goal by depositing Eetu Luostarinen's rebound past Martin. Sam Bennett iced the game with the empty netter to cap off a 6-3 victory for the Panthers. Aaron Ekblad recorded two assists in his 700th game, while Shayne Gostisbehere added two assists for the Canes.
Saturday: Florida 6, Carolina 0
It was a battle of the Spencers in Sunrise on Saturday as Spencer Martin returned to the net for the Hurricanes while Spencer Knight took over for the Panthers. Both goalies were excellent in the first period, going save-for-save as both offenses pushed to break the ice. Both had ample opportunity, too. Martin was responsible for setting up the Canes' best chance, clearing the puck for Martin Necas to skate into for a breakaway, but Knight got his arm on it to keep it out.
The Panthers had a goal wiped off the board due to offsides early in the second period, only for Aaron Ekblad to follow it up by scoring a few minutes later to get the Panthers on the board first. Martin was down and out after a collision in the crease, but Jaccob Slavin looked to be more responsible for the bump than any Panthers. It looked like the Canes would get into the third period down a goal, but Mackie Samoskevich buried a power-play goal with 0.8 seconds remaining in the second, giving the Panthers a 2-0 advantage.
The dam broke in the third period. Florida scored three times against Martin, including twice in 11 seconds. Sam Bennett scored his second in as many games, Aleksander Barkov scored on the power play, and Adam Boqvist added one shortly after to chase the Canes netminder and give Yaniv Perets his second NHL action. Evan Rodrigues would redirect one from the slot that Perets never saw to make it 6-0 as the Canes went down without a fight to finish the weekend.
Takeaways
This was not a fun weekend to be a Carolina Hurricanes fan. The thrill of victories over the Stars and the Rangers made Thanksgiving fun, but these games against the Panthers were tough to watch, especially during the third period. To the Canes' credit, they played solid games through two periods on both days, but being outscored 7-0 in the third is not a recipe for success, especially when you're tied one day and down by two the next.
Starting Spencer Martin for both games was certainly a choice. I had crossed my fingers to see Yaniv Perets get his first start on Saturday, but Rod Brind'Amour opted to return to Martin after a bad start on Friday. Martin let in some very stoppable goals on Friday. He played a much better game on Saturday, though the group in front of him played considerably worse. I'm not giving Martin all of the blame for either loss.
The power play really let the Canes down, especially in Friday's loss. They struck early in the game to tie it at one, but they squandered two golden chances to get momentum back on their side. It started with an abbreviated 5-on-3 late in the first period down two goals that could've helped them cut into Florida's lead before the end of the frame. There was also a third-period opportunity while down a goal that they allowed the short-handed goal during that put them away for good. They also had one good chance on Saturday down 1-0 that failed, allowing Florida to extend its lead before the end of the second period.
The Hurricanes didn't have anyone that took over a game. Martin Necas was held scoreless in consecutive games for the first time this season. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis managed one point each. Andrei Svechnikov was momentarily demoted for Saturday's game. The team at large finished with just two shots during the third period on Saturday. It was an underwhelming showing from an offense that had been dynamic on a nightly basis.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes will return to Raleigh to begin their December schedule with the Seattle Kraken in town on Tuesday. They will follow that up with the Colorado Avalanche at the Lenovo Center on Thursday night before hitting the road for Long Island next Saturday.