Jaccob Slavin scored with 7:30 left to break a tie and give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla., bouncing back from two tough losses last month.
Brent Burns scored the first goal for Carolina, and Martin Necas sealed the win with an empty-net goal 28 seconds before the final buzzer. This was only the Hurricanes’ second win in their last 10 road games (2-6-2).
Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made 25 saves, helping Carolina win for just the second time in their last five games overall.
Anton Lundell scored for the Panthers, and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky played well, making 37 saves in the loss.
Florida had beaten Carolina twice in mid-December by a combined score of 12-3, including a 6-0 shutout at home. The Hurricanes were clearly determined to play better on Thursday night.
Slavin’s goal was only his second of the season, and he also assisted on Burns’ goal 35 seconds into the game.
Carolina had 14 of the game’s first 15 shots but only led 1-0, as Florida’s power play went unsuccessfully.
After Bobrovsky made a great save, Florida quickly countered and tied the game 2:17 into the second period with Lundell’s goal.
By the end of the second period, Carolina had 16 shots, just like the first period, and led Florida 32-15 in shots heading into the third.
Necas scored his 15th goal of the season, and it was his first since Dec. 5 after slipping down the NHL points race. He had led the league in points for the first month of the season.
Carolina went 0 for 3 on power plays but stopped both of Florida’s power-play chances, including one early in the third period.
It was also the NHL debut for Carolina forward Juha Jaaska.
