Kochetkov comes up big in win against Florida.
The Carolina Hurricanes came out with a strong first period then got some key goaltending when needed from Pyotr Kochetkov and went on to defeat the Florida Panthers 3-1, in a physical game on Thursday night in Sunrise, Florida.
Brent Burns got the scoring started with a goal just 35 seconds into the game.
The Canes controlled play for much of the period as they outshot the home team 16-6.
The Panthers made a pushback but the Hurricanes outshot them again 16-9 in the second, although Florida tied the game in that period.
It seemed like the Canes might lose a game they deserved to win, but Kochetkov stood tall in net. The goalie made 25 saves on the 26 shots he faced, some of them high-danger attempts.
With 7:30 left in the game, Jesperi Kotkaniemi was pushed into the Florida net by Matthew Tkuchuk. While the Carolina center tried to roll out of the way, Tkuchuk kept pushing him down, not allowing him to exit.
In the meantime, the Canes kept trying to score. Jaccob Slavin would notch the game-winner during that sequence.
After the play, the ref explained that they were allowing the goal because Kotkaniemi was not allowed to leave the net.
Carolina would close things out with an empty net goal by Martin Necas. Andrei Svechnikov made a nice play to get the primary assist.
The Canes outshot the Panthers 40-26 and outhit them 34-28.
Next up will be a game against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20242025/ES020603.HTM
Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20242025/GS020603.HTM