Florida 5, Carolina 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 10, 2023
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Mitch Dunning, Garrett Rank
Linesmen:
Andrew Smith, Travis Toomey
Attendance:
17845
By Field Level Media
Rookie defenseman Uvis Balinskis scored his first NHL goal, leading the host Florida Panthers to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Sunrise.
It was the teams' first meeting since the Panthers swept the Hurricanes in last season's Eastern Conference finals.
Balinskis, a native of Latvia playing his 11th game, helped the Panthers win their third straight with his first career point.
Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov had one goal and one assist each for the Panthers. Kevin Stenlund also scored, Sam Reinhart added two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky came up with 28 saves.
Carolina, which had its two-game win streak snapped, got one goal each from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Sebastian Aho. Antti Raanta made 30 saves and Jordan Martinhook added two assists.
The Hurricanes opened the scoring just 80 seconds in as Bobrovsky stopped shots by Martinhook and Jesper Fast before Kotkaniemi scored on a rebound.
Florida tied it less than two minutes later. Anton Lundell started the sequence by winning a battle for the puck. Verhaeghe then fed Tkachuk, who stickhandled past Raanta for an impressive goal.
Tkachuk helped give the Panthers the lead for good as his perfect pass led to Balinskis' goal from the doorstep with 1:07 left in the first period.
The teams traded second-period goals.
Barkov scored on a rebound off a shot by Evan Rodrigues at 7:08.
Late in the period, Carolina cut its deficit to 3-2 on Aho's rebound goal, with Martinhook and Brady Skjei picking up the assists.
The Panthers scored a key goal with 6:42 left in the third to extend their lead to 4-2. After winning a faceoff, Gustav Forsling's shot from the point was deflected in by Verhaeghe.
Stenlund put the game away with an empty-net goal with 3:42 left.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Carolina |
|
Florida |
|
Jordan Martinook 2 |
Points |
Aleksander Barkov 2 |
|
Sebastian Aho 1 |
Goals |
Aleksander Barkov 1 |
|
Jordan Martinook 2 |
Assists |
Sam Reinhart 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Antti Raanta .882 |
Save Percentage |
Sergei Bobrovsky .933 |
|
Antti Raanta 30 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 28 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Carolina
|
30 |
2 |
0-3 |
2-2 |
4 |
38 |
| Florida
|
35 |
5 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
6 |
26 |
Upcoming Games
-
Florida will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Panthers have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .667 after a loss.
-
Carolina will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .600 after a loss.