Panthers Escape Hurricanes

    The Florida Panthers played the Carolina Hurricanes for the final time as Southeast Division opponents on Tuesday night and won 4-1 at RBC Center. The Panthers snapped a six-game losing streak in the first of five straight games on the road.
    The first two periods remained scoreless as both teams were unable to put the puck into the net. Florida(8-16-6) broke the tie at 7:39 of the third period for a 1-0 lead. Right wing Tomas Kopecky stripped the puck from defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti at the side of the Canes net and skated it in front. Kopecky slid a pass across the low slot where left wing Tomas Fleischmann scored on a wrist shot by goalie Dan Ellis. It was Fleischmann's sixth goal of the season.
    The Panthers increased their lead to 2-0 as they scored on a 5-on-3 power play, their third one this season, at 12:47. Defenseman Filip Kuba had the puck at the top right circle and made a slap-pass to center Marcel Goc in the slot area where he redirected it into the net. It was the fourth tally by Goc this season.
     The Cats followed with another power-play goal and this time it was on a 5-on-4 at 13:51. Shawn Matthias picked up his ninth goal this season after he backhanded a second-chance rebound after a mad scramble at the edge of the crease.
    Carolina(15-12-2) broke the shutout with 2:33 left in the third period. Center Jordan Staal skated around defenseman Erik Gudbranson in the left circle and beat goalie Jacob Markstrom on a wrist shot.
    Florida center Jerred Smithson scored an unassisted empty-net goal with 52.3 seconds remaining as he flipped the puck from the Panthers blue line down the ice for his second goal this year.
    Markstrom stopped 33 of 34 shots and climbed his record to 2-5-1 while Ellis made 40 saves and fell to 4-4-1. The Cats exceeded as they went 2-for-3 on the man advantage and the Canes were 0-for-3. The Panthers play the New York Rangers, for the first time this season, on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.