Gustov Forsling scored with just over four seconds left in Overtime, and the Carolina Hurricanes dropped a heartbreaker to Florida on Opening Night 1-0.
For one last time the Hurricanes got a chance to celebrate the Stanley Cup—and they did it in a way that showed just what they would have done had they been able to do so at home. The usual player introductions started, and included Seth Jarvis in uniform, coming out to thunderous cheers. The change occurred when Captain Jordan Staal was announced,
skating out with the Stanley Cup in tow. He skated around the arena to the cheers of the fans—including passing right by the assembled Florida Panthers—and then sat the Cup down in the middle of the ice where the players had all set up in a circle.
As Staal joined the team, the familiar beating clap sounds played, and the team fans completed a Stanley Cup Storm Surge. It finished with Staal picking it back up and everyone on the team touching it one last time before it was sat back on the table. One last symbolic celebration for the fans who didn’t get a chance to celebrate with the team at home. The 2026 banner was then raised, the team took photos with it, and that was that.
Anyone expecting a high-scoring game, though, was sorely disappointed as both squads showed exactly what a condensed training camp and preseason leading to a regular season with two more games will do. The teams essentially skated up and down the ice during the first, and the only reason there was a 6-3 Florida advantage in shots was due to the two power plays Florida had. Both were successfully killed, including having Logan Stankoven slot into Seth Jarvis’ spot. Both Brandon Bussi and Jacob Markstrom made strong saves, and the period ended with a fight between the two enforcers Nic Deslauriers and Bokondji Imama. Even that was mostly a draw as it was the two just holding and circling each other.
The second period wasn’t nearly as clean, as both teams spent time on the 5-on3, and both teams combined for nine penalties. Yet despite all the chances for both sides, the penalty kills ruled. Florida arguably had a few better chances but Bussi made some great saves. It wasn’t until the final Power Play of the period that Carolina actually put some decent shots on goal, but again, came up empty. The period ended with a scrum that saw Sean Walker head to the box.
In the third period, Carolina got to their game and had arguably their best power play of the night led by the second unit. Again, both teams traded penalties, again both teams traded chances, but the Canes were able to kill a late Power Play, and Florida decided to melt the period off to guarantee each team a point.
Carolina controlled the action for most of the Overtime, but the communication was still tough between the team as they put more shots on their own goalie than they did on Markstrom. As the clock ticked down, K’Andre Miller made an ill-advised pass over to Andrei Svechnikov near the goal, and it created one last rush that Florida was able to take advantage of. Forsling let loose with the shot right as he crossed the blue line and it blew past Bussi to give the Panthers the 1-0 win.
After the game Bussi took the blame for the goal, saying it was one he should have seen. Despite making several great saves, it was clear his mind set is one where he expects more out of himself. Coach Rod Brind’Amour after the game didn’t seem to upset overall, saying that Bussi would want the shot back but he was also the reason they made it to Overtime in the first place. His bigger concern was just how choppy the play was with all of the penalties, making it difficult to get into the flow of the game—already a problem considering the opponent.
Carolina will now get a couple of days to study the loss and prepare for their next home game on Friday night against Washington, before flying up to Philadelphia on Saturday.
