Hurricanes Storm By Panthers

     Sam Montembeault made his NHL debut in net for the Cats as the Florida Panthers returned home following a three-game road swing and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime at BB&T Center on Saturday night. The Panthers have a 2-0-3 record in their last five games.
     The Hurricanes have won five straight contests and 11 of their last 13 games. The Canes will be wearing their Hartford Whalers green jerseys in Boston against the Bruins on Tuesday.
     Carolina(36-23-6) blasted out to a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the first period. Brock McGinn stole the puck from Keith Yandle in the low circle and scored on a wrist shot from close range past Montembeault for his eighth goal of the campaign at 1:26.
     The Hurricanes made it a two-goal gap at the 2:05 mark. Lucas Wallmark centered the puck from behind the Florida cage and Greg McKegg snapped as shot from the slot area for his fifth goal.
     Florida(28-25-11) responded with a goal at 5:01. Dryden Hunt made a lead pass at center ice. Henrik Borgstrom skated into the left circle and rifled a slapshot by Petr Mrazek.
     The Panthers tied the contest 2-2 with 8:10 left in the first. Borgstrom won a faceoff in the left circle and Jamie McGinn dropped it back. Mark Pysyk got his first goal of the year on a wrist shot from the high slot.
     In the third period, the Cats finally took the lead at the 5:32 mark. McGinn was in the left corner and backhanded a pass to the middle. Borgstrom blasted a one-time slapshot from the low slot for his second of the contest and seventh tally of the season. It was the first three-point game for Borgstrom in his NHL career.
     The Canes quickly came back with 11:41 remaining to make it 3-3. Jordan Staal released a wrist shot from the top right circle that bounced off a defender high in the air. Brett Pesce snapped in a shot from the crease for his sixth goal of the campaign.
     The contest was decided in overtime when Carolina scored at 1:46. Nino Niderreiter carried the puck to the low right circle, backhanded a pass through the crease and Sebastian Aho slid it through the blue paint for the winning tally. Aho set a Hurricanes/Whalers franchise record scoring the winning goal in three consecutive games.