Necas overtime goal lifts Carolina Hurricanes past Florida Panthers

The Carolina Hurricanes did Monday what no other team has been able to do this season: hand the Florida Panthers a second straight loss.

The Canes weren’t always at their best but on this night, they had the best goaltender in Alex Nedeljkovic and won 3-2 at BB&T Center. Vincent Trocheck’s goal late in regulation tied it and the Canes then won on Martin Necas’ goal at 1:59 of overtime.

Nedeljkovic was sharp from the start — moving well, anticipating well, handling the puck well. At the start of a week in which injured goalie Petr Mrazek could return to the Canes lineup, Nedeljkovic had a career-best 44 saves in his 12th career NHL game.

“He deserved that win so bad,” defenseman Brett Pesce, who had a power-play goal in the first period, said after the game. “Honestly, we weren’t at our best, including myself. We had a lot of breakdowns and he was there to clean it all up.

“You’re not going to be at your best for all (your) games. You have to find a way. If it takes a hot goalie to bail us out a few games ... so be it. It was a gutsy win.”

Necas, Nedeljkovic shine

Necas, who thrives in 3-on-3 overtime situations with his speed and skill, had a goal and two assists. He scored on a give-and-go with Sebastian Aho, who made a well-placed pass that Necas finished for his third goal of the season.

“I was full of energy for the OT,” Necas said.

The Panthers (13-4-4) were 6-0 after losses this season and have been a strong comeback team. They did it again Monday against the Hurricanes (14-6-1), who took a 4-3 shootout win over Florida on Saturday, but only after the Panthers scored three third-period goals.

Monday, the Canes got a power-play goal from Pesce and rode the 1-0 lead into the third as Nedeljkovic turned back shot after shot. His glove save of an Aaron Ekblad shot during a Panthers’ 4-on-3 power-play in the second period was high quality, and he had others.

Then, the Panthers struck in the third. Frank Vatrano scored off a rebound. Eetu Luostarinen, a former Canes draft pick, then pushed Florida ahead 2-1 with 3:09 left in regulation as the Panthers jammed things up in front of Nedeljkovic.

“Good teams bounce back and respond and they did,” Nedeljkovic said. “They’ve got some big guys on that team. It’s tough trying to find your own space, looking around those guys. You try to stay sharp and swallow everything you can.”

Luostarinen was one of the players the Canes traded to Florida last year in the trade-deadline deal that sent Trocheck to Carolina.

Trocheck again made the Panthers pay for that decision, scoring his third goal in three games this season against his former team with a shot from the slot with 1:33 remaining in regulation that beat goalie Chris Driedger.

Trocheck’s goal, the center’s team-best 11th of the season, came after Canes coach Brind’Amour pulled Nedeljkovic for an extra attacker.

“We were just trying find some kind of traction in the third,” Brind’Amour said. “The third period was a little shaky for us. We were on our heels.”

Necas did not get a lot of ice time in the third as the Canes struggled in their zone against the hard-charging Panthers. But Trocheck scored, allowing Necas the chance to shine. And while Necas was named the game’s first star, Nedeljkovic was the Canes’ first star.

“I like the way our guys are digging in,” Brind’Amour said. “We seem to never quit. It’s two points and we’ll take ‘em.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 6:33 PM.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

919-829-8945

In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.