Nikolai Ehlers scored a hat trick in the Panthers’ loss

The Carolina Hurricanes made a statement Friday night, cruising to a 9-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at the Lenovo Center. Striker Nikolaj Ehlers led with his own sixth career NHL hat trick and his first as a Hurricane after signing a six-year, $51 million contract in the offseason. He also contributed an assist.

Carolina controlled the game from the start, despite a tight first period that ended 1-0 to the Hurricanes. Ehlers opened the scoring at 18:35 of the first period, finishing off a slick pass from captain Jordan Staal as he skated through the slot. This was the first game Ehlers played on a line with Staal and Jordan Martinook anchoring Carolina’s checking line.

Florida answered early in the second, as Uvis Balinskis tied the game 1-1 with a one-timer from the top of the circle, assisted by Sandys Vilmanis, who earned his first NHL point. The Hurricanes wasted no time regaining control, with Mark Jankowski scoring on a backhand rebound off an Alexander Nikishin shot at 13:10. Nikishin then extended the lead to 3-1 on a power play from the right point at 16:28, assisted by Sebastian Aho.

Carolina exploded in the third period, scoring six unanswered goals. Andrei Svechnikov started the surge with a power-play goal, his 400th NHL point, at 4:08. Ehlers added his second goal for a 5-on-3 advantage at 11:17, followed by Taylor Hall’s power play just 21 seconds later. Ehlers completed his hat trick at 13:03 on a one-timer by Logan Stankoven to make it 7-1. Hall found the back of the net again at 18:23 and Eric Robinson finished the scoring at 18:35 for a 9-1 win.

The Hurricanes were the better team in every facet of the game, outscoring the Panthers 33-16, winning 66% of their faceoffs and beating Florida 30-19. Carolina’s special teams were outstanding, converting on four of five power play opportunities while holding the Panthers scoreless on five chances. Goaltender Brandon Busey made 15 saves for his 17th win of the season, while Sergei Bobrovsky allowed a career-high nine goals on 26 shots.

The Hurricanes last scored nine goals in 2009, when they beat the New York Islanders 9-0. With the win, Carolina improved to 29-15-4 on the season and 5-1-1 in its last seven games. The Hurricanes will look to carry this momentum into Saturday’s matchup against the New Jersey Devils in Newark.