What a wild night from Sunrise, FL! From fast goals to huge saves, the Florida Panthers battled hard and defeated the unbeaten Carolina Hurricanes 5-2. It was a significant effort all around led by forward Anthony Duclair. Duclair ended the game with two goals and two assists and was the first star of the game.
Recap
For a quick two-game home stand, the Panthers took advantage of every opportunity. Each game was against high quality competition. First, a thrilling overtime win against the high flying Washington Capitals. Then, a dominating win against one of the NHL’s best teams in the Hurricanes.
Starting off hot, the Panthers scored four straight goals in the first period. Those goals were scored by Duclair, Vatrano, Lundell, and Hornqvist. At the end of the first period, the Hurricanes took out starting goaltender Frederik Andersen. He was replaced by backup goaltender Antti Raanta. Raanta looked sharp, stopping all four shots faced but was taken out of the game due to a collision with Panthers player Ryan Lomberg.
Panthers goalie Spencer Knight did not lose focus all night. Knight stopped 30 of the 32 shots for a save percentage of over 93%. The Panthers sacrificed the body a lot as well in front of Knight, totaling 26 blocked shots on the defensive end of the ice.
Other Notes
- In his career, Goalie Spencer Knight has yet to lose a regular season game in regulation (8-0-1).
- The Florida Panthers required the fewest games in franchise history to reach the 10-win mark in a season, besting the previous mark of 14 set in 1995-96 and matched in 2020-21.
- The Florida Panthers are the final NHL team without a regulation loss and have earned 21 of a possible 22 points to start the season (10-0-1).
- The Hurricanes, who came in with an undefeated record, recorded their first loss of the season.
- The Panthers have an 11-game point streak (9-0-1), one game shy of the longest season-opening point streak in franchise history (8-0-4 in 1996-97).
- Anthony Duclair currently has a career-high six-game point streak, besting his previous mark of five set on five previous occasions (2x in 2020-21 w/ FLA, 2019-20 w/ OTT & 2x in 2015-16 w/ ARI).
- Florida has scored the first goal of a game for the eighth time in 2021-22, tied with Anaheim for the most among all teams this season. The Panthers have won each contest when they have scored first.
Up Next
The Panthers will be away from home for a total of ten days. During that span, Florida will face off against the Rangers, Devils, Penguins and Lightning.