In Sunrise, the visiting Carolina Hurricanes let 2-0 and 3-2 leads escape their clutches before finally putting an end to the frustration with a 4-3 win in the skills competition over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. 
Martin Necas deposited the game-deciding goal in the penalties phase of the game.
“All the boys on the bench were so happy and so excited for him,” the Canes’ Warren Foegele said. “He’s been playing really well since he’s been up. You’re always just happy for the guy to get their first. No one better to get it because he works so hard and he’s a really special player and a great person.”
James Reimer made 28 saves. in the win.
“We definitely upped the talent level around here, so we have a lot of good options on the shootout,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “So that’s very, very positive. It’s coming through this year obviously.”
Patric Hornqvist, Jonathan Huberdeau and Frank Vatrano scored for the Panthers.
“We started to play more 5-on-5 style (in the third period),” Hornqvist said. “Everyone was skating, everyone was talking, and it was easy to play hockey in the third. We have to start the game like that on Monday.”
The Panthers dropped to 13-4-3.
“We were fortunate to get the point after coming back twice in the third to tie it up,” Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’ll take the points in these [types of] games, and that’s a positive thing.”
Vincent Trocheck and Jake Bean scored for the Canes in regulation.
“We needed to get the win here,” Trocheck said. “Obviously good teams don’t lose back-to-backs and we lost three in a row, so coming in tonight against a good team we needed to get that win. In this shortened season, every game matters, every point matters. So to get the two points against a good team is important.”
Foegele also scored for Carolina.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Foegele said. “Just happy to get the win. But we definitely have to figure it out to be consistent and stick to what makes us successful. Right now we’re having spurts of it, but we need to probably stop talking about it and we all need to do it.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves in the loss.
“I have a big belief in this team and that they have a lot of skill,” Bobrovsky said. “I believe we’ll eventually score and get at least one point. Obviously it’s unfortunate. It’s a little bit tough to lose the way we lost. For me personally, I have to be better in the shootouts. Other than that, it was a really solid game and a big point for us.”
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