How the Hurricanes inched closer to the first-place Florida Panthers

The race is getting tighter at the top of the NHL’s Central Division.

The Carolina Hurricanes did their part to tighten the squeeze Tuesday, surging past the Florida Panthers with four goals in the third period for a 5-2 victory at PNC Arena.

The Canes (26-9-3) have 55 points, moving within one point of the first-place Panthers (26-10-4), and have two games in hand on Florida. Tampa Bay, the 2020 Stanley Cup champion, was beaten Tuesday by Columbus and dipped to third place with 54 points. It’s that close.

The Canes trailed 2-1 entering the third period and the Panthers were 18-0-1 when leading after two periods this season. But Dougie Hamilton scored a power-play goal to tie the score 45 seconds into the period, and Jordan Staal gave the Canes the lead at 8:52 of the third with the first of his two goals.

“Going into the third period it was a good game, they’re a good team, so we couldn’t get down on ourselves for being in the position we were in,” Canes center Vincent Trocheck said. “We just had to go out there in the third period and play our game.”

Staal’s shot from the left circle slipped through the pads of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Defenseman Radko Gudas tried to clear the puck before it crossed the goal line but it was then kicked into the net as the Canes took the 3-2 lead.

After the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for a sixth attacker, Staal fought off two defenders for a tough empty net score. Jesper Fast soon added another as the Canes improved to 4-0-1 this season the Panthers, who rolled into Tuesday’s game with a six-game winning streak.

“It was physical but it was also really fast,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of the game. “That team is high octane, Florida. They transition really well and you make any little mistake in the (offensive) zone and they’re going the other way.

“It was an interesting game that way. We weren’t at our best but our guys got going there at the end and had some key moments. It wasn’t a dominant game by any means but in key moments they made the difference, really.”

Bobrovsky twice had the puck get past him in the second period but only one hurt him. Trocheck scored a power-play goal for the Canes, his fifth goal in the five games against his former team, but Sebastian Aho had a goal disallowed earlier in the second because of a quick whistle by referee Wes McCauley.

Canes goalie Petr Mrazek was back in net after his 28-save shutout of the Dallas Stars on Sunday, his first NHL game since Jan. 30. Mrazek had some quality saves Tuesday although Barkov beat him twice.

“It was a good game, it was a weird game,” Staal said. “They played well, they created lots. I felt like our first and second was just OK, we created a little bit, but ‘Raz played really well and made some really big saves.”

In the first, Barkov followed up a rebound for his 15th of the season. After Trocheck scored in the second off an Aho pass, Barkov was unchecked in the Canes zone and blasted a shot from the right circle past Mrazek for his 16th.

Aho, who had three assists in the game, hopped on a loose puck and appeared to tie the score 1-1, but McCauley had blown the play dead before Aho’s shot, believing Bobrovsky had stopped the puck. After a review, the call was a no-goal as Canes fans in the crowd of 4,987 loudly booed.

Mrazek denied Barkov a hat trick in the third when the forward again had an open look from the slot.

“Both goalies made some sick saves,” Brind’Amour said.

Hamilton’s goal initially was credited to Trocheck, who appeared to get a piece of the shot in the slot. Hamilton picked up his fifth of the season on a shot from the point.

“It may not always be pretty and may not be always perfect but we’re going to find a way to compete as hard as we can and continue to try to find a way to win games,” Staal said.

This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 6:47 PM.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

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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.