Florida Panthers fall to Hurricanes for 3rd time in 9 days after power play goes 0 for 5

With the season nearly halfway over, the Florida Panthers are one of the best teams in the NHL.

If only they could figure out the Carolina Hurricanes.

“They’re a good team,” All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau said. “They play fast and they play physical.”

The Panthers, whose five losses in regulation are tied for third fewest in the league, fell to the Hurricanes for the third time in nine days Sunday, losing 4-2 after giving up a crushing shorthanded goal in the opening seconds of the third period in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Florida (15-5-4) is now 1-1-2 in four games against the Hurricanes (17-6-1) this season, and Carolina’s win vaults the Hurricanes past the Panthers and into second place in the Central Division. Three of Florida’s four games against Carolina this year have gone to either overtime or a shootout, but a series of special-teams disasters kept the Panthers from picking up a point at PNC Arena.

On the day defenseman Keith Yandle celebrated his 1,000th career game, Florida’s offense was uncharacteristically uncohesive.

Even after starting 0 of 3 on the power play and giving up a power-play goal to the Hurricanes in the first period, the Panthers were within one when the third began and it started the final period with an extra man.

Twenty-five seconds into the third period, Carolina counterattacked and Hurricanes winger Brock McGinn ripped a shot wide of the net. Thirteen seconds later, Carolina created another odd-man rush and star center Sebastian Aho finished the 2-on-1 by beating goaltender Chris Driedger off an assist by Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook.

In four games against Carolina this year, Florida is 2 of 16 on the power play -- including 0 of 8 in the last two. Five of the Hurricanes’ 14 goals against the Panthers this season have come on the power play, plus two after delayed penalties and the one short-handed goal Sunday.

“That disruption and disturbing of the organizing entries, and then all of a sudden you’re basically just trying to get possession or settle it down and get the zone time you’re looking for,” coach Joel Quenneville said of Carolina’s penalty kill. “All of a sudden, the pressure’s coming again, so you’ve got to make quick plays.”

The Hurricanes’ 3-1 lead grew to 4-1 with 16:19 left in the third period and Florida stumbled to only its fourth multi-goal loss of the season.

Carolina’s speed has been an early-season Achilles’ heel for the Panthers.

“They’re a well-structured team,” Huberdeau said. “It’s always hard to play against them.”

Florida, which leads the league with 34.6 shots on goal per game and boasts a top-10 power play, managed just 23 shots in the first game of a three-game road trip and went 0 of 5 on the power play, while Carolina went 1 of 5. Huberdeau, center Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Aaron Ekblad combined for just three shots, and neither Barkov nor Ekblad recorded a shot until the Panthers already trailed 4-1.

Huberdeau was the only one of the three to put a shot on net in the first two periods. He had two and his second represented the biggest missed opportunity for Florida.

The same power play that eventually yielded the decisive short-handed goal started in the last minute of the second period. Hurricanes winger Andre Svechnikov held Barkov with 41 seconds left in the period and the Panthers went on the power play for the fourth time.

The puck whizzed from the blue line toward the net and past Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei, who whiffed as he tried to clear the bouncing puck. Huberdeau was right there on the doorstep and 1-on-1 against James Reimer. He shifted the puck from the right side of the net across the goal mouth and the Hurricanes’ goaltender mirrored him, turning away a potential game-tying goal right before the end of the period.

“That’s a two-goal swing there,” Quenneville said, “and could’ve been the differential.”

When the power play ended early in the third, Florida was 0 of 4 with the extra man and down 3-1.

Huberdeau did create a late goal for Florida when he dashed down the left side of the ice, held the puck all the way until he was even with the goal line and pushed a pass across the ice to left wing Mason Marchment, who scored against the open net Huberdeau created.

The Panthers’ never trimmed the lead closer than 4-2, though. They went on the power play one more time with 2:24 left and put four shots on net, but couldn’t beat Reimer.

“We couldn’t quite get it to 4-3. “Over the course of the season, there’s a couple games that the guys weren’t—whether it’s fatigue or the scheduling caught up to you. I’m not making excuses, but tonight we weren’t great.”