The race atop the NHL Central between the Panthers and Hurricanes just got tighter
The Carolina Hurricanes are done with the Florida Panthers.
At least for now. Check back during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Canes and Panthers played their eighth and final regular-season game Saturday at the BB&T Center, going to overtime before an Aleksander Barkov goal won it 4-3 for the Panthers.
Barkov carried the puck down the right wing and past the Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov in overtime, getting off a shot from the right circle that got through Canes goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who was making his third straight start.
The victory by the Panthers prevented the Canes (31-10-6) from clinching a spot in the playoffs, which if and when they do clinch will be their third consecutive trip to the postseason for the first time since the franchise relocated from Hartford.
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The Canes, who played Saturday with a patchwork lineup, finished 6-0-2 in the season series against the Panthers, but officially clinching a playoff berth will have to wait. They maintained their Central Division lead over Florida (31-13-5), though, with 68 points, and have two games-in-hand on the Panthers.
“We got a point out of this, we came in and got three out of four (points),” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, noting the 4-2 win Thursday over the Panthers. “Short-staffed and everything else, I think that’s a win for us in a lot of ways.”
Defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored twice for the Canes, the second on a power play, and Carolina led 3-1 in the third after defenseman Brett Pesce scored on an outside shot.
But the Panthers, who got a goal and three assists from MacKenzie Weegar, fought back to tie the score on goals from Gustav Forsling and then Alex Wennberg, who further energized his team and the crowd with a shorthanded goal.
“Most games against them have been like that,” Hamilton said. “I feel like pretty much every game has been tight. We’ve had little leads and they’ve been pushing, pushing, pushing in the thirds. We definitely have to be better playing with the lead. Having that killer instinct. Roddy (Brind’Amour) told us we need that.”
The third period had a fast-paced first seven minutes. Svechnikov never saw the puck but Brett Pesce’s shot from the point hit off his skate in front of the crease and caromed past goalie Chris Driedger for a 3-1 lead at 3:01 of the third.
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Forsling then made it 3-2 at 4:48 of the third with his fourth of season, slipping past Canes forward Morgan Geekie on the back side for an open shot. The Canes then had a power play after a hooking call against the Panthers, but Wennberg’s strike tied it at 6:20.
“We had the game 3-1,” Brind’Amour said. “That next shift can’t be that. A blown D-zone coverage can’t happen. That’s the frustrating part. We give up a shortie, too, but that (Forsling) goal got the momentum going for them and we really didn’t recover.”
Added Hamilton, “They turned it on and we didn’t.”
The Canes were missing defenseman Brady Skjei (concussion) and forwards Jordan Martinook (lower-body injury) and Jesper Fast, a late scratch. Forward Teuvo Teravainen (concussion) is with the team and practicing but missed his 24th straight game, and forward Brock McGinn is not on the road trip.
This story was originally published April 24, 2021 at 6:42 PM with the headline "The race atop the NHL Central between the Panthers and Hurricanes just got tighter."
