The Panthers came into the game one point behind from an Eastern Conference playoff spot and leaped to second place in the Atlantic Division in one night. They were last in the Eastern Conference back on December 3. The Canes entered the contest in first place inside the Metropolitan Division and first in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams will clash again on Tuesday in Raleigh.
Carolina(22-9-3) had a 1-0 lead with 8:07 remaining in the first period. Nikolaj Ehlers slid the puck from the left point. Shayne Gostisbehere took a one-time slap shot that was saved by Sergei Bobrovsky. Jordan Staal scored his 10th goal this season on a backhand shot from the top of the crease. There was no scoring for either team during the second period.
The Hurricanes expanded it to 2-0 at the 1:27 mark of the third period. Seth Jarvis touched the puck in his own zone and Andrei Svechnikov sent a lead backhand pass from the neutral zone. Sebastian Aho went down the ice alone on a breakaway and scored on a wrist shot from the high slot for his 12th goal of the campaign.
Florida(19-13-2) fell behind 3-0 at 7:34 of the third. Jarvis zipped a cross-ice pass from the low left circle and Svechnikov's shot from the right side of the crease was saved. Aho snapped a shot from the low right circle for his second tally of the contest and 13th goal in 2025-26.
The Panthers cut it to 3-1 with 9:44 left in the period. Jalen Chatfield gave the puck away on the end wall and Sam Bennett centered the puck from behind the cage. Brad Marchand put in a wrist shot from the right side of the crease past Brandon Bussi for his 20th goal of the season. It was the 13th consecutive season and 15th time that Marchand has reached the 20-goal plateau. Carter Verhaeghe was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
Florida closed it to 3-2 with 2:25 left as they added an extra attacker for nine seconds. Sam Reinhart angled a pass from the low slot and Evan Rodrigues shot the puck from the left goal line which was stopped. Bennett placed in a forehand shot from the right side of the crease for his 12th goal of the year.
The Cats pulled their goalie for a extra skater with 2:10 to go and they tied it up 3-3 with 41.4 seconds remaining in the third. A Rodrigues shot from the right point went wide. Marchand pushed the puck to the middle from the end wall and Reinhart scored on a wrist shot from the slot area for his 18th goal this season.
In the shootout, Reinhart snapped a shot to score during the Panthers second attempt. Jackson Blake deked and put in a forehand shot during the Hurricanes third attempt to tie it up and keep them alive. Rodrigues found the net with a wrist shot on Florida's fourth attempt to get the victory.
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