Carolina Hurricanes can’t cash in on power plays in loss

Sometimes, hockey, like so many sports, can be a simple game.

The team that works the hardest, that’s most determined, that shows the will to win comes away with the win.

That was the Florida Panthers on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, coming away with a 4-1 victory at PNC Arena.

Canes coach Bill Peters didn’t have to digest this game very long or analyze game strategy.

“I didn’t think we had much — of anything,” Peters said. “There weren’t many aspects, many areas of the game that I liked.

“I didn’t think we started on time and I didn’t think we competed. I didn’t think we won any races and we didn’t look like we were hungry to get to the puck.”

The Panthers (2-1-0) were playing the night after a bruising 1-0 loss in Philadelphia to the Flyers. Not that it showed. Florida was the fresher, better team much of the game.

“They worked harder,” Peters said. “They were desperate, they were hungrier and they played harder for sure.”

Asked about being surprised by the Canes’ listlessness, especially early in the game, Peters said simply, “I didn’t see that coming.”

The Canes began the season insisting they would nor repeat the struggles of a year ago, when they went 0-6-2 in October. This was a second season under Peters and everyone had a better feel for his systems and his style of play.

But the Hurricanes now are 0-3-0 and facing seven straight road games. Because of the N.C. State Fair, Carolina won’t play at home again until Oct. 30 against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canes played their home opener Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings before a standing-room-only crowd, losing 4-3. A team official said Monday it set a single-game, regular-season franchise record for revenue generated.

The crowd Tuesday was much smaller, 10,901, and the atmosphere more sedate. That may have worked in the Panthers’ favor, but good overall play and the effective goaltending by Al Montoya, making his first start of the season, made a bigger difference.

Nick Bjugstad gave the Panthers the lead barely two minutes into the game, going unchecked in the slot. After Carolina’s Elias Lindholm tied the score 1-1 in the second period on a one-timer from the slot, the Panthers broke the game open in the third with goals by rookie Connor Brickley and Aleksander Barkov in a 50-second span.

“You can’t have a flat start like that and expect to win many hockey games,” Canes center Jordan Staal said. “We've got to find a way to win games. Right now we're finding a way to lose them.”

Brickley’s first NHL goal, at 12:18 of the third, came on sheer effort. He outfought the Canes’ Victor Rask in front of the crease to knock the puck past Canes goalie Eddie Lack.

Lack, traded to the Canes last summer from the Vancouver Canucks, was making his first start for his new team after Cam Ward started the first two games. Lack allowed three goals on 29 shots — the Panthers’ final score was an empty netter by former Canes forward Jussi Jokinen — but Peters had no major complaints about the play in net.

“He probably could be tidier, some pucks (were) laying around, but all in all not a bad night,” Peters said.

Barkov scored on a rebound after ageless Jaromir Jagr pushed the puck past rookie defenseman Noah Hanifin on the right wing and drove to to the net.

Peters changed up the lines during the game, saying, “We didn’t have anything going.” Nor did he like the look the power play — Carolina was 0-4 and now is one-for-13 this season.

Lack summed up the Canes’ situation succinctly, saying, “We need a win here and we need it fast.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Carolina Hurricanes can’t cash in on power plays in loss."