For the second time in less than a week, the Florida Panthers entered the nightmares of the Carolina Hurricanes.
On Friday, Florida was down 3-0 to Carolina with less than 10 minutes to go before clawing their way back and earning an exhilarating 4-3 shootout victory.
Advertisement
Four nights later, this time up in Raleigh, the Panthers were down 2-0 entering the third period when they reeled off five unanswered goals to shock the Hurricanes again, skating to a resounding 5-2 win and entering the holiday break on a hell of a run.
Florida has now picked up victories in eight of their past 10 games and will enter the NHL’s holiday freeze sitting in a playoff spot with games in hand of many of the teams still ahead of them.
Let’s get to Tuesday’s takeaways.
MAURICE LETS ‘EM HAVE IT
With the Panthers down 2-0 late in the second period and not looking particularly good, Paul Maurice decided that was a good time to go a little nuclear on his team.
Advertisement
During his four seasons behind Florida’s bench, Maurice has gone this route less than a handful of times.
When he does, though, the team has always responded.
It’s usually something he saves for the playoffs, or when the postseason is a bit closer, but on this night, Mo gave it to his guys.
After the game, when Florida had just turned in a 5-0 third period, Maurice was quick to deflect any credit toward his players, despite the obvious connection to his tongue lashing on the bench.
“It changed nothing,” Maurice said of his tirade. “That third period, the players, they handled all that. I was responsible for the first two, I didn’t have my team ready to play tonight. Credit to them for understanding the importance that even if you’re going to lose the game, you have to lose it a certain way, and we hadn’t played the way we needed to play. I wasn’t very good today, but fortunately, my players were…in the third.”
Advertisement
COMEBACK CATS DO IT AGAIN
There is just something about these Panthers and never giving up.
Maybe it’s Maurice.
Maybe it’s the leadership in the locker room.
Maybe it’s just a stockpiling of lucky breaks that will eventually even out (or perhaps this is the evening out after decades of despondence).
However you want to frame these things, no matter how many times the Panthers pull off one of these come-from-behind wins, they don’t get any less astounding.
Florida’s coach tried to make it make sense after Tuesday’s win.
“When you get on a roll in this league, emotion is such a huge part of it,” Maurice began. “A goal from the fourth line, right? Those guys work so hard, and they haven’t had a lot to show for their hard work, so that had a lot to do with it. We played a third period in Colorado, we were down 5-1, and we were in one to say the least, but we played hard in that third period, and that started a four game winning streak for us. So it was really, really important, whether we won or lost the game, that we could find a way to right the ship and play a hard, smart third period. That was their task, and they accomplished it.”
Advertisement
CLIMBING BOB
Another game, another milestone for Sergei Bobrovsky.
Florida’s starting netminder won his sixth consecutive start on Tuesday. He’s allowed only 10 combined goals over his past five outings and enters the holiday break tied for the league lead in wins.
His latest victory was also the 445th of his career, moving Bob into a tie for eighth place on the all-time wins list with Terry Sawchuck.
Bobrovsky now trails seventh place Curtis Joseph by nine wins, and Henrik Lundqvist is only five ahead of that, so it’s conceivable that Bob moves into sixth place sometime this season.
Between the names he’s chasing and the legends he’s just passed, like tenth place Jacques Plante and eleventh place Tony Esposito, it’s beyond impressive what Bobrovsky is accomplishing in his career, while showing no signs of slowing up.
Advertisement
“The names that he’s surrounded by are the names that I grew up as a kid, listening to my dad telling me about the greatest goalies that ever played, and Sergei Bobrovsky is now among those names,” Maurice said. “To get a chance to be a part of his career – I’ve got nothing to do with him stopping the puck, I’ll be clear about that – but I get to be a part of it and get to know him a little bit, so it’s a real honor for me to have worked, not worked with him, worked beside him, worked alongside Sergei, and watched his professionalism. It’s an honor.”
LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS – FLORIDA
Comeback Cats strike in Raleigh as Panthers take down Hurricanes 5-2
Panthers’ Mackie Samoskevich Out Against Hurricanes; Greer Good To Go
Advertisement
Panthers look to head into holiday break on high note, to meet Hurricanes in Carolina
Panthers to honor Brad Marchand for reaching 1,000 career points
Photo caption: Dec 23, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) celebrate their victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)
