Hurricanes look for immediate rebound against Panthers

The Carolina Hurricanes seek revenge as they travel to Sunrise, Florida, to face the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers defeated the Hurricanes 6-3 on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, ending Carolina’s nine-game home winning streak in the first half of a back-and-forth set.

Sergei Bobrovsky started in goal for the Panthers on Friday afternoon and stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced en route to improving his season record to 11-5-1.

With Bobrovsky playing on Friday, Spencer Knight will likely start in net on Saturday.

Knight has a 2.63 goals-against average this season, but has lost each of his last three starts. Bobrovsky owns a 3.04 GAA.

Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, played his 700th NHL game during Friday’s win and had two assists.

“Our hope and expectation is that Aaron becomes that complete two-way defenseman that when we get on the ice, you can score points, you can run a power play, but he’s going to play the other best thing on the team,” the coach said. of Florida, Paul Maurice.

Ekblad played a team-high 27:17 as the Panthers won their second straight game after losing four in a row.

Not only did the Hurricanes lose their home winning streak, but leading scorer Martin Necas also saw his nine-game home point streak end. Necas, who had six goals and 14 assists during the streak, stayed off the scoreboard despite playing a team-high 22:18.

The Hurricanes rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game late in the second period, but were unable to finish the job as the Panthers scored three unanswered goals in the third period.

“We have to put this behind us pretty quickly and focus on the same team,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said of meeting the Panthers again on Saturday. “It’s always a battle against that team, they’re a good team. They play hard, they play smart and they don’t give you anything. So we’re going to have to work to have our opportunities and we’re going to have to get a big road win in Florida.” .

The Hurricanes have lost two consecutive road games (0-1-1) and have struggled with the Panthers in recent history, only winning four of the last 14 meetings (4-5-5) between the regular season and the postseason. Florida swept Carolina in four games during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.

Spencer Martin has started between the pipes for Carolina in four of their last five games due to injuries to Pyotr Kochetkov (concussion protocol) and Frederik Andersen (knee).

Martin allowed a total of 16 goals in those four starts.

Kochetkov is considered a possibility for Saturday’s game, but if he is still not available, the Hurricanes could turn to Yaniv Perets. As part of Quinnipiac’s 2023 NCAA championship team, Perets could be in line for his first NHL start. He played 12:46 in a relief appearance last season in his only NHL game.

Both teams have been playing in high scoring situations lately. The Hurricanes have scored or allowed four or more goals in 18 consecutive games, while the Panthers have seen 11 of their last 15 games total six or more goals.