Preseason game number four was one to forget as the Florida Panthers got rocked 8-2 by the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes iced a roster heavy on NHL regulars while the Panthers did not and it obvious from the get-go that a one-sided loss was in the cards.
Seth Jarvis beat Spencer Knight twice and Josiah Slavin, Sean Walker, Jordan Staal, Jack Roslovic, William Carrier and Andrei Svechnikov also scored goals for home side.
After hanging tough in the first period, the Panthers were down by five before Oliver Okuliar tipped Mike Benning’s shot past Frederik Andersen with 3:27 left in the second period. Zac Dalpe drew the second assist on the power-play goal.
A.J. Greer scored for the second straight game when he deflected Benning’s shot by Andersen, who went the distance for Carolina, 42 seconds into the final frame to make it 6-2. This time, the secondary helper went to Ben Steeves.
Knight played the first two periods and surrendered six goals on 20 shots. Cooper Black was between the pipes for the final twenty minutes and gave up goals to Carrier and Svechnikov. He finished with seven saves.
Strong game for Benning, who in addition to his two assists, was credited with a shot on goal and a hit. He was one of two Panthers defensemen, Jaycob Megna was the other, to finish up with an even rating.
Tobias Björnfot and Mikulas Hovorka each went minus-four in the game.
The same two teams will meet tonight at Amerant Bank Arena. Expect a flip in roster strength as we should see much of Florida’s NHL roster this evening.