With Barkov magic and last-minute comeback, Panthers win ‘playoff-style game’ in Carolina
.JPG "Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, left, celebrates his game winning goal with center Aleksander Barkov (16) during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)")
With the goal empty behind them and less than a minute separating them from a loss to open the second half of their second, the Florida Panthers were desperate and desperation time is when they’re at their best.
With 48.3 seconds left in the third period, Sam Reinhart struck first for the Panthers with a rebound goal to force overtime. With 4:44 left in the extra session, Aaron Ekblad capped first-place Florida’s rapid-fire comeback with a breakaway goal to beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, in its first nationally televised game of the season.
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“It was a really good way to start the second half of the season for us,” Reinhart said.
Florida (33-10-5) fell behind 1-0 in the first period, then 2-1 early in the third and came back both times. Star center Aleksander Barkov scored one of the flashiest goals of his career in the second period with a behind-the-back move and defenseman Lucas Carlsson kept the Panthers within striking distance earlier in the second when he dove in front of the net for one of the best saves of the season. The Hurricanes, with the league’s stingiest defense and best penalty kill, imposed their will on the Panthers for most of the game by holding them beneath their season average in shots on goal and shutting down all five power plays, but Florida broke through in the end to begin its second half of the season with a win in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Last weekend, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour called the Panthers “the juggernaut team” in the league while he was in Las Vegas to coach in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. On Wednesday, interim coach Andrew Brunette said, “We feel the same about them.”
They entered the day with the two best points percentages in the Eastern Conference and legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, and both played the part to entertain 16,986 at PNC Arena and hundreds of thousands more watching on TNT. Florida, with the NHL’s highest scoring offense and fresh legs after two weeks off, just had a bit more than Carolina, which has now lost 4 of 5 since it resumed play after the All-Star break.
After the Hurricanes (32-11-4) had the edge in shots on goal and scoring chances in the first period, the Panthers outshot them 11-6 in the second and 11-2 in the third. Carolina tried its best to make the game a defensive struggle and mostly did, only Florida’s depth let it wear down the Hurricanes and its skill let it break through their stout defense.
Carolina got both of its goal with the help of some fortunate breaks. On their first, Ekblad broke his stick on a shot attempt from the point, giving the Hurricanes a rush in the other direction and, eventually, a goal in the final minute of the first period when Carolina winger Teuvo Teravainen sneaked a no-angle shot past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a soft goal. On the second, Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo ripped a shot from the left point, and wound up with a goal when the puck bounced off defenseman Gustav Forsling and past Bobrovsky with 16:47 left in regulation.
In between, Barkov delivered one of the best goals of his career, getting a 1-on-1 rush and dancing around the defender by putting the puck behind his back to set up a backhanded shot to even the score at 1-1 with 6:51 left in the second period.
“He never ceases to amaze,” Brunette said. “It was kind of fun it was on national TV. Hopefully, the world got to see what he brings to us every night, and maybe shine a light to how skilled he is and how hard he competes.”
The razor-thin margin separating the two title contenders manifested until the very end of the game, when the Panthers pulled their goalie, survived a few close calls when two length-of-the-ice shots by Carolina went just wide of the net and gave Reinhart a chance for his last-minute heroics.
With about 50 seconds left, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar fired a shot from the point and created a long rebound. Reinhart was in the right place on the left doorstep and flipped the game-tying goal by Frederik Andersen.
A little more than a minute later, Ekblad delivered a victory when he deked his way past the Hurricanes goaltender on Florida’s first scoring chance of the 3-on-3 frame.
It was a showcase game in nearly every way imaginable — 22 penalty minutes, nine total power plays and a stunning last-minute comeback — and the Panthers pulled it out by weathering a defensive struggle and putting together the offensive punch they’re used to in the nick of time.
“It was a playoff-style game,” Ekblad said. “It was a wild game, lots of fun. I’m excited to play those games down the stretch.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 10:37 PM.
