Barkov's OT winner gives Panthers victory over Canes

*Photo from the Winston-Salem Journal*

   Maybe Aleksander Barkov just knew the puck was going to go in no matter what. So he just decided not to look. The puck still went in. Alexander Wennberg scored the game tying goal, Barkov scored a no look overtime winner, and the Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-3 overtime win Saturday night. 

   Dougie Hamilton started the scoring for the Hurricanes in the first period, then MacKenzie Weeger tied it up for the Panthers, leaving it a 1-1 game after one period. In the second period, Hamilton scored again to make it 2-1 Hurricanes. In the 3rd, Brett Pesce added to the Hurricanes lead to make it 3-1, then, goals from Gustav Forsling and Wennberg tied it up for the Panthers, setting the stage for Barkov's game winner.

   Weegar said of the OT win that "This was a huge win for us. Lots of emotions coming in before the game. We really wanted to win this one. Credit to everybody that played. We battled hard. Maybe a little bit of a slow start, but I'm happy with the way the boys played tonight."

   Chris Driedger got the start in net for the Panthers, and got the win on a day where he did not have to stop many shots. Driedger saved 16 of 19 shots he faced across regulation and OT. He saw his record improve to 13-5-3 this season with the win, while the Panthers are second in the Central division, with a 31-13-5 record.

   Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of the two goal 3rd to tie the game that "I felt a lot of passion, a lot of emotion on the bench. It was very intense, whether it was frustration or, here we are getting behind. I think that determination and perseverance found its way."

   For the Hurricanes, Alex Nedeljkovic got the start in goal, and got the loss. He faced much more shots than Driedger, saving 32 out of 36 shots across regulation and OT. His record dropped to 12-4-3 after the OT loss, while the Hurricanes are first in the Central with a 31-10-6 record.

   Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the win that "We came in here and we got three out of four points, short-staffed. I think that's a win for us in a lot of ways. They were better than us tonight for sure, but somehow we managed to get a point out of it."

   The Panthers face off against the Nashville Predators on Monday, where Sergei Bobrovsky starts for the Panthers. The Hurricanes face the Stars on Monday, with Petr Mrazek expected to start.