SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Spencer Knight made 39 saves in his first shutout of the season and the third of his career, leading the Florida Panthers to a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
Nick Cousins, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett scored for Florida, which handed Carolina its second straight loss following a four-game winning streak.
The Panthers, opening a their five-game homestand with the victory, are 5-0 this season at home. They have won two in a row.
The game was played as Broward County was under a hurricane watch due to the approaching Hurricane Nicole.
Cousins gave Florida its lead at 9:21 of the first period. With the 21-year-old Knight (5-1-0) stopping every shot he faced, Cousin's goal proved to be enough.
Barkov, the Panthers’ captain, gave Florida a cushion when he scored on a give-and-go from Carter Verhaeghe on the team’s fourth power-play opportunity midway through the third.
Bennett scored into an empty net in the final seconds.
Carolina goalie Antti Raanta (3-1-1) made 34 saves in the loss.
The Hurricanes were 0-3 on the power play with majority of their time coming in the third period while down a goal. Carolina’s first chance with the man advantage came on a Brandon Montour penalty with 24.5 seconds remaining in the second period.
STAAL CITY
Eric Staal played his first NHL game in a 3-1 loss to the Panthers in Sunrise on Oct. 9, 2003.
Wednesday marked his 1,300th regular-season game, and Staal — now a member of the Panthers — was able to celebrate the milestone on the ice with two of his brothers: Florida defenseman Marc, and Carolina captain Jordan.
“There’s a sense of good hockey karma here,’’ said Florida coach Paul Maurice, who was Eric’s first NHL coach with the Hurricanes. “They deserve that.”
Eric Staal is the 54th player to reach 1,300 games in NHL history and is the active leader in games played.
NOTES
The Panthers will have forward Matthew Tkachuk back on Saturday after he served the last of his two-game suspension on Wednesday. The Panthers are also expected to activate defenseman Aaron Ekblad from long-term injured reserve in time for their next game. … Carolina had center Paul Stastny and defenseman Calvin de Haan as healthy scratches, with goalie Frederik Anderson out after leaving practice early Tuesday with an undisclosed injury. Florida scratched defenseman Lucas Carlsson and forward Patric Hornqvist missed his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
UP NEXT
Hurricanes: Host Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
Panthers: Host Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon.
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