Hurricanes Outlast Panthers

    The Florida Panthers played the second game of a home-and-home series against the Carolina Hurricanes and fell 3-2 on Sunday at BB&T Center. The Panthers have lost 10 of their last 12 games. The Canes lead the Cats by eight points in the Southeast Division.
    Carolina(12-8-1) got a rush late in the first period with two goals in just one minute. The Panthers tried to clear the puck out of their zone when it was stopped by defenseman Justin Faulk at the right point. He blasted a slapshot through traffic for an unassisted goal with 1:51 remaining.
    The Hurricanes made it a 2-0 lead with 51.7 seconds left in the stanza. Center Eric Staal sent a lead pass in the neutral zone to right wing Alexander Semin and he made a drop pass to left wing Jiri Tlusty as they crossed the Panthers blue line. Tlusty found Semin ahead of the play alone in the low slot and he backhanded the puck by goalie Scott Clemmensen.
    In the second period, the Canes extended their lead to 3-0 at 6:10. Left wing Jeff Skinner skated the puck behind the Panthers cage and sent it to center Jordan Staal in the low slot where he made a one-time snapshot. Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward was injured and left the game with 11:04 remaining in the frame. He was replaced by Dan Ellis.
    For the second straight night, Florida(6-11-5) broke the 3-0 shutout in the second period with 3:55 to go. Right wing Peter Mueller skated through the right side in the neutral zone and by the Canes blue line. He passed to the low slot where left wing Jonathan Huberdeau redirected the puck into the net. Huberdeau was just recently named the NHL Rookie of the Month in February.
    The Panthers came within one goal at 3-2 with 54.5 seconds left in the third period when they pulled their goalie for a 6-on-5 situation. Mueller ripped a pass from the left circle across to Huberdeau on the right side of the crease and he connected on a wrist shot for his second goal of the game and tenth goal this season. It was the second time this season that Huberdeau had two goals in one game as he did it against the Washington Capitals on February 12.
    The Cats outshot the Canes 15-2 in the third period and 36-24 overall. Both teams went scoreless on the power play as Florida was 0-for-1 while Carolina was 0-for-2. The Panthers only had one power-play opportunity in their last two games. Ward stopped all 15 shots before he got injured after almost 29 minutes of play and improved to 9-6-1. His backup Ellis made 19 saves in 21 shots. Clemmensen dropped to 2-3-2 as he made 21 saves on 24 shots. Florida will host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, play in Washington against the Capitals on Thursday and face the Jets again in Sunrise on Friday.